Apparatuses and methods for transmitting or receiving a broadcast content via one or more networks

ABSTRACT

A digital receiver for synchronizing multiple components delivered on a broadband network and a broadcast network, the digital receiver including a broadband network interface configured to receive broadband data including at least one audio component for a service via the broadband network, wherein the at least one audio component relates to a Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) segment, wherein the broadband network comprises an internet network; a broadcast network interface configured to receive a broadcast signal including a video component for the service, first timing information, and second timing information via the broadcast network, wherein the broadcast signal further includes a MPD (Media Presentation Description) having a DASH representation containing a segment URL for the DASH segment delivered over the broadband network; and a processor configured to calculate an offset based on a receiver wall clock, and process at least one of the at least one audio component or the video component which is time-aligned based on the calculated offset.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/413,042 filed on May 15, 2019, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/104,418 filed on Jun. 14, 2016 (now U.S. Pat.No. 10,326,816 issued on Jun. 18, 2019), which is the National Phase ofPCT International Application No. PCT/KR2015/000295 filed on Jan. 12,2015, which claims the priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Nos. 61/970,908 filed on Mar. 27, 2014,61/948,522 filed on Mar. 5, 2014, 61/932,808 filed on Jan. 29, 2014 and61/926,938 filed on Jan. 13, 2014, all of which are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference into the present application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for supportinghybrid broadcasting in a digital broadcasting system, and moreparticularly, to a transmission/reception processing method andapparatus for combining and using transport streams transmitted/receivedfrom one or more transport networks in a digital broadcasting system.Furthermore, the present invention relates to a transmission/receptionprocessing method and apparatus for combining and using packets usingdifferent protocols in a digital broadcasting system.

Discussion of the Related Art

Digital broadcast systems provide content through a terrestrialbroadcast, satellite broadcast or cable broadcast network. However,these broadcast networks have limited bandwidths and it is difficult forviewers to actively participate in broadcast content.

Particularly, bandwidths of broadcast networks through which broadcastcontent is transmitted reach the limit due to diversification and highquality of content. To solve this, a hybrid broadcast system thatreceives data through a broadcast network and the Internet andsimultaneously uses the data is under development.

In the hybrid broadcast system, however, a method for synchronizingtransport steams respectively transmitted through the broadcast networkand the Internet when the transport

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A current hybrid broadcasting system has a problem in that transportstreams transmitted through each of a broadcasting network and theInternet are provided by being combined with separate content having aform that does not require synchronization.

In addition, the hybrid broadcasting system has a problem of requiringexcessive calculation performance of a receiver to synchronize transportstreams transmitted through each of the broadcasting network and theInternet.

A current hybrid broadcasting system has a problem in synchronizingbetween packets using different protocols when the packets should becombined to present a broadcast content.

An object of the present invention devised to solve the above-describedproblems.

To achieve the object and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, thepresent invention provides an apparatus for receiving a broadcastcontent via one or more networks. The apparatus comprises a broadcastnetwork interface for receiving broadcast streams including firstprotocol packets including first portions of the broadcast content via abroadcast network, a heterogeneity network interface for receivingsecond protocol packets including a second portion of the broadcastcontent via a heterogeneity network, and wherein the broadcast streamsfurther include third protocol packets containing metadata forsynchronizing between different protocol packets transmitted via the oneor more networks, wherein the third protocol packets include locationinformation specifying a location from which the second protocol packetsare acquired, and wherein the third protocol packets further includefirst timing information specifying first timings when the firstprotocol packets are used, and second timing information specifyingsecond timings when the second protocol packets are used, a processorfor configuring the broadcast content using the first protocol packetsand the second protocol packets based on information included in thethird protocol packets.

Preferably, wherein the broadcast streams further include fourthprotocol packets using a protocol other than that of the first protocolpackets, and w herein the third protocol packets further include fourthtiming information specifying fourth timings when the fourth protocolpackets are used.

Preferably, wherein the first protocol packets correspond to Real TimeProtocol (RTP) packets, wherein the second protocol packets carry MPEGDASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) segments, and wherein thethird protocol packets correspond to RTP Control Protocol (RTCP)packets.

Preferably, wherein the processor is mapping the first timings specifiedby first timing information into a Network Time Protocol (NTP) timeline,mapping the second timings specified by the second timing informationwhich are applied to the second protocol packets acquired based on thelocation information into the NTP timeline, and configuring thebroadcast content by synchronizing the first protocol packets and thesecond protocol packets using the NTP timeline.

Preferably, wherein the first timing information correspond to NTPtimestamps and RTP timestamps of the first protocol packets, and whereinthe second timing information correspond to DASH media presentation timeinformation.

Preferably, wherein the third protocol packets further include formatinformation specifying formats of the second timing information.

Preferably, wherein the processor is further calculating offsets betweenthe NTP timestamps and receiver wall clock times at points in time whenthe first protocol packets are received, adjusting the first timings andthe second timings based on the calculated offsets, and configuring thebroadcast content by synchronizing the first protocol packets and thesecond protocol packets using the adjusted first timings and secondtimings.

The present invention provides an a method for receiving a broadcastcontent via one or more networks in a receiver. The method comprisesreceiving broadcast streams including first protocol packets includingfirst portions of the broadcast content via a broadcast network,receiving second protocol packets including a second portion of thebroadcast content via a heterogeneity network, and wherein the broadcaststreams further include third protocol packets containing metadata forsynchronizing between different protocol packets transmitted via the oneor more networks, wherein the third protocol packets include locationinformation specifying a location from which the second protocol packetsare acquired, and wherein the third protocol packets further includefirst timing information specifying first timings when the firstprotocol packets are used, and second timing information specifyingsecond timings when the second protocol packets are used, configuringthe broadcast content using the first protocol packets and the secondprotocol packets based on information included in the third protocolpackets.

Preferably, wherein the broadcast streams further include fourthprotocol packets using a protocol other than that of the first protocolpackets, and wherein the third protocol packets further include fourthtiming information specifying fourth timings when the fourth protocolpackets are used.

Preferably, wherein the first protocol packets correspond to Real TimeProtocol (RTP) packets, wherein the second protocol packets carry MPEGDASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) segments, and wherein thethird protocol packets correspond to RTP Control Protocol (RTCP)packets.

Preferably, the method further comprises mapping the first timingsspecified by first timing information into a Network Time Protocol (NTP)timeline, mapping the second timings specified by the second timinginformation which are applied to the second protocol packets acquiredbased on the location information into the NTP timeline, and configuringthe broadcast content by synchronizing the first protocol packets andthe second protocol packets using the NTP timeline.

Preferably, wherein the first timing information correspond to NTPtimestamps and RTP timestamps of the first protocol packets, and whereinthe second timing information correspond to DASH media presentation timeinformation.

Preferably, wherein the third protocol packets further include formatinformation specifying formats of the second timing information.

Preferably, the method further comprises calculating offsets between theNTP timestamps and receiver wall clock times at points in time when thefirst protocol packets are received, adjusting the first timings and thesecond timings based on the calculated offsets, and configuring thebroadcast content by synchronizing the first protocol packets and thesecond protocol packets using the adjusted first timings and secondtimings.

The present invention is effective in easily synchronizing transportstreams transmitted through each of heterogeneous networks or packetsusing different protocols.

The present invention is effective in synchronizing transport streamstransmitted through each of heterogeneous networks applicable to a wideuse irrespective of characteristics of the heterogeneous networks orprotocols.

The present invention is effective in enhancing user convenience sinceit is possible to provide a variety of broadcast data combinable withthe same content through heterogeneous networks or different protocols.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of an apparatus for transmittingbroadcast signals for future broadcast services according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an input formatting block according to one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an input formatting block according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an input formatting block according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a BICM block according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a BICM block according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a frame building block according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates an OFDM generation block according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a structure of an apparatus for receiving broadcastsignals for future broadcast services according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a frame structure according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a signaling hierarchy structure of the frameaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates preamble signaling data according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates PLS1 data according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 illustrates PLS2 data according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 illustrates PLS2 data according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates a logical structure of a frame according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates PLS mapping according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates EAC mapping according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 19 illustrates FIC mapping according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 20 illustrates a type of DP according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 21 illustrates DP mapping according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 22 illustrates an FEC structure according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 23 illustrates a bit interleaving according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 24 illustrates a cell-word demultiplexing according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 illustrates a time interleaving according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 26 illustrates the basic operation of a twisted row-column blockinterleaver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 illustrates an operation of a twisted row-column blockinterleaver according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 illustrates a diagonal-wise reading pattern of a twistedrow-column block interleaver according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 29 illustrates interleaved XFECBLOCKs from each interleaving arrayaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a view showing a protocol stack for a next generationbroadcasting system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a view illustrating a broadcast transmission frame accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a view of a broadcast transmission frame according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a view illustrating a structure of a transport packettransmitting a broadcast service according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 34 is a view illustrating meanings of Network Protocol fieldaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a view illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receptiondevice according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a view illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receptiondevice according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a view illustrating an architecture for acquiring a serviceand/or content in a next-generation broadcast system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a view illustrating a broadcast service signaling tableaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a view of meanings of the service_category field according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a view of a broadcast service signaling table according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a view of a stream identifier descriptor according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a view illustrating an operation when a broadcasttransmission device transmits a broadcast service signaling tableaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a view illustrating an operation when a broadcast receptiondevice receives a packetized broadcast packet according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 44 is a view illustrating a segment configuration according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is a view illustrating a structure of a real-time transportprotocol (RTP) packet for real-time content transmission according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is a view illustrating a media file format based on an ISO basemedia file format (ISO BMFF) according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 47 is a view illustrating a configuration of a payload header in apacket payload according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 48 is a view illustrating a payload configuration of a transportpacket in which one media data is packetized in one packet.

FIG. 49 is a view illustrating a payload configuration of a transportpacket in which one media data is packetized in one packet.

FIG. 50 is a view illustrating a configuration of a transport packet inwhich a plurality of media data are packetized in one packet.

FIG. 51 is a view illustrating a configuration of an aggregation unitaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 52 is a view illustrating the payload of a fragmented packetaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 53 is a view illustrating a configuration of a payload in afragmented packet according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 54 is a view when a broadcast transmission device fragments an ISOBMFF based media file into a plurality of packets.

FIG. 55 is a view illustrating First fragmentation unit data packetizedby the broadcast transmission device.

FIG. 56 is a view illustrating a fragmentation unit including remainingdata except for the start data in the fragmentation unit data accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 57 is a view illustrating a payload configuration when payload datadoes not include fragmentation unit data including start data andfragmentation unit data including end data.

FIG. 58 is a view illustrating a configuration of a payload including afragmentation unit including the end data among divided entire mediadata.

FIG. 59 is a view illustrating a timeline signaling table of metadataaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 60 is a view illustrating a configuration of payload data in whichone metadata is packetized in payload data of a transport packet.

FIG. 61 is a view when payload data of a transport packet includesmetadata for a timeline according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 62 is a view when a plurality of metadata are packetized in onetransport packet.

FIG. 63 is a view when one transport packet includes several timelineinformation.

FIG. 64 is a view illustrating a packet payload in which one metadata isdivided and packetized in a plurality of transport packets.

FIG. 65 is a view illustrating a metadata fragment header according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 66 is a view illustrating an operation when a broadcast receptiondevice receives a broadcast packet according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 67 is a view when video stream is transmitted using RTP throughbroadcast network and video stream is transmitted using file formatbased media data through an internet network.

FIG. 68 is a view illustrating syntax of a timeline component accessunit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 69 illustrates a transport packet format for supporting mediasynchronization on a real-time content transport protocol according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 70 illustrates the profile-specific extension according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 71 illustrates an RTPC application packet corresponding to anapplication-defined RTCP Packet according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 72 illustrates the application-dependent data according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 73 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack that may be applied to the broadcast system.

FIG. 74 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aconversion of RTP presentation times to receiver wall clock times.

FIG. 75 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack for a case in which one video track, one audio track, andone closed caption track are delivered via broadcast with RTP.

FIG. 76 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack for a case in which one video track, one audio track, andone closed caption track are delivered via broadcast with ISO BMFF overALC/LCT+.

FIG. 77 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aworking example of synchronization between a continuous media componentdelivered via RTP in broadcast channel and a continuous media componentdelivered via DASH over broadband.

FIG. 78 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, a way ofsynchronization between a continuous media component delivered via RTPin broadcast channel and a continuous media component delivered via DASHover broadband.

FIG. 79 illustrates, as another embodiment of the present invention, anexample of application-defined RTCP packet.

FIG. 80 illustrates, as another embodiment of the present invention, anexample of the RTCP sender report packet header.

FIG. 81 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack for a Hybrid Delivery with RTP.

FIG. 82 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, theconversion of DASH presentation times to receiver wall clock timeline.

FIG. 83 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, asynchronization of content delivered via DASH (unicast) with contentdelivered via ALC/LCT+.

FIG. 84 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, a way ofthe synchronization of content delivered via DASH (unicast) with contentdelivered via ALC/LCT+.

FIG. 85 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol slack for Hybrid Delivery with ISO BMFF over ALC/LCT+.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. The detailed description, which will be given below withreference to the accompanying drawings, is intended to explain exemplarsembodiments of the present invention, rather than to show the onlyembodiments that can be implemented according to the present invention.The following detailed description includes specific details in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details.

Although most terms used in the present invention have been selectedfrom general ones widely used in the art. some terms have beenarbitrarily selected by the applicant and their meanings are explainedin detail in the following description as needed. Thus, the presentinvention should be understood based upon the intended meanings of theterms rather than their simple names or meanings.

The present invention provides apparatuses and methods for transmittingand receiving broadcast signals for future broadcast services. Futurebroadcast services according to an embodiment of the present inventioninclude a terrestrial broadcast service, a mobile broadcast service, aUHDTV service, etc.

The term “signaling” in the present invention may indicate that serviceinformation (SI) that is transmitted and received from a broadcastsystem, an Internet system, and/or a broadcast/Internet convergencesystem. The service information (Si) may include broadcast serviceinformation (e.g., ATSC-SI and/or DVB-SI) received from the existingbroadcast systems.

The term “broadcast signal” may conceptually include not only signalsand/or data received from a terrestrial broadcast, a cable broadcast, asatellite broadcast, and/or a mobile broadcast, but also signals and/ordata received from bidirectional broadcast systems such as an Internetbroadcast, a broadband broadcast, a communication broadcast, a databroadcast, and/or VOD (Video On Demand).

The term “PLP” may indicate a predetermined unit for transmitting datacontained in a physical layer. Therefore, the term “PLP” may also bereplaced with the terms ‘data unit’ or ‘data pipe’ as necessary.

A hybrid broadcast service configured to interwork with the broadcastnetwork and/or the Internet network may be used as a representativeapplication to be used in a digital television (DTV) service. The hybridbroadcast service transmits, in red time, enhancement data related tobroadcast A/V (Audio/Video) contents transmitted through the terrestrialbroadcast network over the Internet, or transmits, in real time, someparts of the broadcast A/V contents over the Internet, such that userscan experience a variety of contents.

The present invention aims to provide a method for encapsulating an IPpacket, an MPEG-2 TS packet, and a packet applicable to other broadcastsystems in the next generation digital broadcast system in such a mannerthat the IP packet, the MPEG-2 TS packet, and the packet can betransmitted to a physical layer. In addition, the present inventionproposes a method for transmitting layer-2 signaling using the sameheader format.

The contents to be described hereinafter may be implemented by thedevice. For example, the following processes can be carried out by asignaling processor, a protocol processor, a processor, and/or a packetgenerator.

Among terms used in the present invention, a real time (RT) serviceliterally means a real time service. That is, the RT service is aservice which is restricted by time. On the other hand, a non-real time(NRT) service means a non-real time service excluding the RT service.That is, the NRT service is a service which is not restricted by time.Data for an NRT service will be referred to as NRT service data.

A broadcast receiver according to the present invention may receive anon-real time (NRT) service through a medium, such as terrestrialbroadcasting, cable broadcasting, or the Internet. The NRT service isstored in a storage medium of the broadcast receiver and is thendisplayed on a display device at a predetermined time or according to auser's request. In one embodiment, the NRT service is received in theform of a file and is then stored in the storage medium. In oneembodiment, the storage medium is an internal hard disc drive (HDD)mounted in the broadcast receiver. In another example, the storagemedium may be a universal serial bus (USB) memory or an external HDDconnected to the outside of a broadcast receiving system. Signalinginformation is necessary to receive files constituting the NRT service,to store the files in the storage medium, and to provide the files to auser. In the present invention, such signaling information will bereferred to as NRT service signaling information or NRT servicesignaling data. The NRT service according to the present invention maybe classified into a fixed NRT service and a mobile NRT serviceaccording to a method of obtaining an IP datagram. In particular, thefixed NRT service is provided to a fixed broadcast receiver and themobile NRT service is provided to a mobile broadcast receiver. In thepresent invention, the fixed NRT service will be described as anembodiment. However, the present invention may be applied to the mobileNRT service.

Among terms used in the present invention, an application (orsynchronized application) is a data service providing interactiveexperience to a viewer to improve viewing experience. The applicationmay be named a triggered declarative object (TDO), a declarative object(DO), or an NRT declarative object (NDO).

Among terms used in the present invention, a trigger is a signalingelement for identifying signaling and setting a provision time of anapplication or an event in the application. The trigger may includelocation information of a TDO parameter table (TPT) (which may be nameda TDO parameter element). The TPT is a signaling element includingmetadata for operating an application within a specific range.

The trigger may function as a time base trigger and/or an activationtrigger. The time base trigger is used to set a time base for suggestinga criterion of a reproduction time of an event. The activation triggeris used to set an operation time of an application or an event in theapplication. The operation may correspond to start, end, pause, killand/or resuming of an application or an event in the application. Timebase messages may be used as the time base trigger or the time basetrigger may be used as the time base messages. Activation messages,which will hereinafter be described, may be used as the activationtrigger or the activation trigger may be used as the activationmessages.

A media time is a parameter used to refer to a specific time when acontent is reproduced.

The triggered declarative object (TDO) indicates additional informationin a broadcast content. The TDO is a concept of triggering theadditional information in the broadcast content on timing. For example,in a case in which an audition program is broadcast, current ranking ofaudition participants preferred by a viewer may be shown together with acorresponding broadcast content. At this time, additional informationregarding the current ranking of the audition participants may be theTDO. The TDO may he changed through bidirectional communication with theviewer or may be provided in a state in which a viewer's intention isreflected in the TDO.

The apparatuses and methods for transmitting according to an embodimentof the present invention may be categorized into a base profile for theterrestrial broadcast service, a handheld profile for the mobilebroadcast service and an advanced profile for the UHDTV service. In thiscase, the base profile can be used as a profile for both the terrestrialbroadcast service and the mobile broadcast service. That is, the baseprofile can be used to define a concept of a profile which includes themobile profile. This can be changed according to intention of thedesigner.

The present invention may process broadcast signals for the futurebroadcast services through non-MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) orM1MO according to one embodiment. A non-MIMO scheme according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a MISO (Multiple InputSingle Output) scheme, a SISO (Single Input Single Output) scheme, etc.

While MISO or M1MO uses two antennas in the following for convenience ofdescription, the present invention is applicable to systems using two ormore antennas.

The present invention may defines three physical layer (PL) profiles(base, handheld and advanced profiles) each optimized to minimizereceiver complexity while attaining the performance required for aparticular use case. The physical layer (PHY) profiles are subsets ofall configurations that a corresponding receiver should implement.

The three PHY profiles share most of the functional blocks but differslightly in specific blocks and/or parameters. Additional PHY profilescan be defined in the future. For the system evolution, future profilescan also be multiplexed with the existing profiles in a single RFchannel through a future extension frame (FEF). The details of each PHYprofile are described below.

1. Base Profile

The base profile represents a main use case for fixed receiving devicesthat are usually connected to a roof-top antenna. The base profile alsoincludes portable devices that could be transported to a place butbelong to a relatively stationary reception category. Use of the baseprofile could be extended to handheld devices or even vehicular by someimproved implementations, but those use cases are not expected for thebase profile receiver operation.

Target SNR range of reception is from approximately 10 to 20 dB, whichincludes the 15 dB SNR reception capability of the existing broadcastsystem (e.g. ATSC A/53). The receiver complexity and power consumptionis not as critical as in the battery-operated handheld devices, whichwill use the handheld profile. Key system parameters for the baseprofile are listed in below table 1.

TABLE 1 LDPC codeword length 16K, 64K bits Constellation size 4~10 bpcu(bits per channel use) Time de-interleaving memory size ≤2¹⁹ data cellsPilot patterns Pilot pattern for fixed reception FFT size 16K, 32Kpoints

2. Handheld Profile

The handheld profile is designed for use in handheld and vehiculardevices that operate with battery power. The devices can be moving withpedestrian or vehicle speed. The power consumption as well as thereceiver complexity is very important for the implementation of thedevices of the handheld profile. The target SNR range of the handheldprofile is approximately 0 to 10 dB, but can be configured to reachbelow 0 dB when intended for deeper indoor reception.

In addition to low SNR capability, resilience to the Doppler Effectcaused by receiver mobility is the most important performance attributeof the handheld profile. Key system parameters for the handheld profileare listed in the below table 2.

TABLE 2 LDPC codeword length 16K bits Constellation size 2~8 bpcu Timede-interleaving memory size ≤2¹⁸ data cells Pilot patterns Pilotpatterns for mobile and indoor reception FFT size 8K, 16K points

3. Advanced Profile

The advanced profile provides highest channel capacity at the cost ofmore implementation complexity. This profile requires using MIMOtransmission and reception, and UHDTV service is a target use case forwhich this profile is specifically designed. The increased capacity canalso be used to allow an increased number of services in a givenbandwidth, e.g., multiple SDTV or HDTV services.

The target SNR range of the advanced profile is approximately 20 to 30dB. MIMO transmission may initially use existing elliptically-polarizedtransmission equipment, with extension to full-power cross-polarizedtransmission in the future. Key system parameters for the advancedprofile are listed in below table 3.

TABLE 3 LDPC codeword length 16K, 64K bits Constellation size 8~12 bpcuTime de-interleaving memory size ≤2¹⁹ data cells Pilot patterns Pilotpattern for fixed reception FFT size 16K, 32K points

In this case, the base profile can be used as a profile for both theterrestrial broadcast service and the mobile broadcast service. That is,the base profile can be used to define a concept of a profile whichincludes the mobile profile. Also, the advanced profile can be dividedadvanced profile for a base profile with MIMO and advanced profile for ahandheld profile with MIMO. Moreover, the three profiles can be changedaccording to intention of the designer.

The following terms and definitions may apply to the present invention.The following terms and definitions can be changed according to design.

auxiliary stream: sequence of cells carrying data of as yet undefinedmodulation and coding, which may be used for future extensions or asrequired by broadcasters or network operators.

base data pipe: data pipe that carries service signaling data.

baseband frame (or BBFRAME): set of Kbch bits which form the input toone FEC encoding process (BCH and LDPC encoding).

cell: modulation value that is earned by one earner of the OFDMtransmission.

coded block: LDPC-encoded block of PLS1 data or one of the LDPC-encodedblocks of PLS2 data.

data pipe: logical channel in the physical layer that carries servicedata or related metadata, which may carry one or multiple service(s) orservice component(s).

data pipe unit: a basic unit for allocating data cells to a DP in aframe.

data symbol: OFDM symbol in a frame which is not a preamble symbol (theframe signaling symbol and frame edge symbol is included in the datasymbol).

DP_ID: this 8 bit field identifies uniquely a DP within the systemidentified by the SYSTEM_ID.

dummy cell: cell carrying a pseudorandom value used to fill theremaining capacity not used for PLS signaling, DPs or auxiliary streams.

emergency alert channel: part of a frame that carries EAS informationdata.

frame: physical layer time slot that starts with a preamble and endswith a frame edge symbol.

frame repetition unit: a set of frames belonging to same or differentphysical layer profile including a FEF, which is repeated eight times ina super-frame

fast information channel: a logical channel in a frame that carries themapping information between a service and the corresponding base DP.

FECBLOCK: set of LDPC-encoded bits of a DP data.

FFT size: nominal FFT size used for a particular mode, equal to theactive symbol period Ts expressed in cycles of the elementary period T.

frame signaling symbol: OFDM symbol with higher pilot density used atthe start of a frame in certain combinations of FFT size, guard intervaland scattered pilot pattern, which carries a part of the PLS data.

frame edge symbol: OFDM symbol with higher pilot density used at the endof a frame in certain combinations of FFT size, guard interval andscattered pilot pattern.

frame-group: the set of all the frames having the same PHY profile typein a super-frame.

future extension frame: physical layer time slot within the super-framethat could be used for future extension, which starts with a preamble.

Futurecast UTB system: proposed physical layer broadcasting system, ofwhich the input is one or more MPEG2-TS or IP or general stream(s) andof which the output is an RF signal.

input stream: A stream of data for an ensemble of services delivered tothe end users by the system.

normal data symbol: data symbol excluding the frame signaling symbol andthe frame edge symbol.

PHY profile: subset of all configurations that a corresponding receivershould implement.

PLS: physical layer signaling data consisting of PLS1 and PLS2.

PLS1: a first set of PLS data carried in the FSS symbols having a fixedsize, coding and modulation, which carries basic information about thesystem as well as the parameters needed to decode the PLS2.

NOTE: PLS1 data remains constant for the duration of a frame-group.

PLS2: a second set of PLS data transmitted in the FSS symbol, whichcarries more detailed PLS data about the system and the DPs.

PLS2 dynamic data: PLS2 data that may dynamically change frame-by-frame.

PLS2 static data: PLS2 data that remains static for the duration of aframe-group.

preamble signaling data: signaling data carried by the preamble symboland used to identify the basic mode of the system.

preamble symbol: fixed-length pilot symbol that carries basic PLS dataand is located in the beginning of a frame.

NOTE: The preamble symbol is mainly used for fast initial band scan todetect the system signal, its timing, frequency offset, and FFTsize.

reserved for future use: not defined by the present document but may bedefined in future.

superframe: set of eight frame repetition units.

time interleaving block (TI block): set of cells within which timeinterleaving is earned out, corresponding to one use of the timeinterleaver memory.

TI group: unit over which dynamic capacity allocation for a particularDP is carried out, made up of an integer, dynamically varying number ofXFECBLOCKs.

NOTE: The TI group may be mapped directly to one frame or may be mappedto multiple frames. It may contain one or more TI blocks.

Type 1 DP: DP of a frame where all DPs are mapped into the frame in TDMfashion.

Type 2 DP: DP of a frame where all DPs are mapped into the frame in FDMfashion.

XFECBLOCK: set of Ncells cells carrying all the bits of one LDPCFECBLOCK.

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of an apparatus for transmittingbroadcast signals for future broadcast services according to anembodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus for transmitting broadcast signals for future broadcastservices according to an embodiment of the present invention can includean input formatting block 1000, a BICM (Bit interleaved coding &modulation) block 1010, a frame structure block 1020, an OFDM(Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) generation block 1030 and asignaling generation block 1040. A description will be given of theoperation of each module of the apparatus for transmitting broadcastsignals.

IP stream/packets and MPEG2-TS are the main input formats, other streamtypes are handled as General Streams. In addition to these data inputs,Management Information is input to control the scheduling and allocationof the corresponding bandwidth for each input stream. One or multiple TSstream(s), IP stream(s) and/or General Stream(s) inputs aresimultaneously allowed.

The input formatting block 1000 can demultiplex each input stream intoone or multiple data pipe(s), to each of which an independent coding andmodulation is applied. The data pipe (DP) is the basic unit forrobustness control, thereby affecting quality-of-service (QoS) One ormultiple service(s) or service component(s) can be carried by a singleDP. Details of operations of the input formatting block 1000 will bedescribed later.

The data pipe is a logical channel in the physical layer that carriesservice data or related metadata, which may carry one or multipleservice(s) or service component(s).

Also, the data pipe unit: a basic unit for allocating data cells to a DPin a frame.

In the BICM block 1010, parity data is added for error correction andthe encoded bit streams are mapped to complex-value constellationsymbols. The symbols are interleaved across a specific interleavingdepth that is used for the corresponding DP. For the advanced profile,MIMO encoding is performed in the BICM block 1010 and the additionaldata path is added at the output for MIMO transmission. Details ofoperations of the BICM block 1010 will be described later.

The Frame Building block 1020 can map the data cells of the input DPsinto the OFDM symbols within a frame. After mapping, the frequencyinterleaving is used for frequency—domain diversity, especially tocombat frequency-selective fading channels. Details of operations of theFrame Building block 1020 will be described later.

After inserting a preamble at the beginning of each frame, the OFDMGeneration block 1030 can apply conventional OFDM modulation having acyclic prefix as guard interval. For antenna space diversity, adistributed MISO scheme is applied across the transmitters. In addition,a Peak-to-Average Power Reduction (PAPR) scheme is performed in the timedomain. For flexible network planning, this proposal provides a set ofvarious FFT sizes, guard interval lengths and corresponding pilotpatterns. Details of operations of the OFDM Generation block 1030 willbe described later.

The Signaling Generation block 1040 can create physical layer signalinginformation used for the operation of each functional block. Thissignaling information is also transmitted so that the services ofinterest are properly recovered at the receiver side. Details ofoperations of the Signaling Generation block 1040 will be describedlater.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the input formatting block 1000 according toembodiments of the present invention. A description will be given ofeach figure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an input formatting block according to one embodimentof the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an input formatting module whenthe input signal is a single input stream.

The input formatting block illustrated in FIG. 2 corresponds to anembodiment of the input formatting block 1000 described with referenceto FIG. 1.

The input to the physical layer may be composed of one or multiple datastreams. Each data stream is carried by one DP. The mode adaptationmodules slice the incoming data stream into data fields of the basebandframe (BBF). The system supports three types of input data streams:MPEG2-TS. Internet protocol (IP) and Generic stream (GS). MPEG2-TS ischaracterized by fixed length (188 byte) packets with the first bytebeing a sync-byte (0x47). An IP stream is composed of variable length IPdatagram packets, as signaled within IP packet headers. The systemsupports both IPv4 and IPv6 for the IP stream. GS may be composed ofvariable length packets or constant length packets, signaled withinencapsulation packet headers.

(a) shows a mode adaptation block 2000 and a stream adaptation 2010 forsignal DP and (b) shows a PLS generation block 2020 and a PLS scrambler2030 for generating and processing PLS data. A description will be givenof the operation of each block.

The Input Stream Splitter splits the input TS, IP, GS streams intomultiple service or service component (audio, video, etc.) streams. Themode adaptation module 2010 is comprised of a CRC Encoder, BB (baseband)Frame Slicer, and BB Frame Header Insertion block.

The CRC Encoder provides three kinds of CRC encoding for error detectionat the user packet (UP) level, i.e., CRC-8, CRC-16, and CRC-32. Thecomputed CRC bytes are appended after the UP. CRC-8 is used for TSstream and CRC-32 for IP stream. If the GS stream doesn't provide theCRC encoding, the proposed CRC encoding should be applied.

BB Frame Slicer maps the input into an internal logical-bit format. Thefirst received bit is defined to he the MSB. The BB Frame Slicerallocates a number of input bits equal to the available data fieldcapacity. To allocate a number of input bits equal to the BBF payload,the UP packet stream is sliced to fit the data field of BBF.

BB Frame Header Insertion block can insert fixed length BBF header of 2bytes is inserted in front of the BB Frame. The BBF header is composedof STUFFI (1 bit), SYNCD (13 bits), and RFU (2 bits). In addition to thefixed 2-Byte BBF header, BBF can have an extension field (1 or 3 bytes)at the end of the 2-byte BBF header.

The stream adaptation 2010 is comprised of stuffing insertion block andBB scrambler.

The stuffing insertion block can insert stuffing field into a payload ofa BB frame. If the input data to the stream adaptation is sufficient tofill a BB-Frame, STUFFI is set to ‘0’ and the BBF has no stuffing field.Otherwise STUFFI is set to ‘1’ and the stuffing field is insertedimmediately after the BBF header. The stuffing field comprises two bytesof the stuffing field header and a variable size of stuffing data.

The BB scrambler scrambles complete BBF for energy dispersal. Thescrambling sequence is synchronous with the BBF. The scrambling sequenceis generated by the feed-back shift register.

The PLS generation block 2020 can generate physical layer signaling(PLS) data. The PLS provides die receiver with a means to accessphysical layer DPs. The PLS data consists of PLS1 data and PLS2 data.

The PLS1 data is a first set of PLS data carried in the FSS symbols inthe frame having a fixed size, coding and modulation, which carriesbasic information about the system as well as the parameters needed todecode the PLS2 data. The PLS1 data provides basic transmissionparameters including parameters required to enable the reception anddecoding of the PLS2 data. Also, the PLS1 data remains constant for theduration of a frame-group.

The PLS2 data is a second set of PLS data transmitted in the FSS symbol,which carries more detailed PLS data about the system and the DPs. ThePLS2 contains parameters that provide sufficient information for thereceiver to decode the desired DP. The PLS2 signaling further consistsof two types of parameters, PLS2 Static data (PLS2-STAT data) and PLS2dynamic data (PLS2-DYN data). The PLS2 Static data is PLS2 data thatremains static for the duration of a frame-group and the PLS2 dynamicdata is PLS2 data that may dynamically change frame-by-frame.

Details of the PLS data will be described later.

The PLS scrambler 2030 can scramble the generated PLS data for energydispersal.

The above-described blocks may be omitted or replaced by blocks havingsimilar or identical functions.

FIG. 3 illustrates an input formatting block according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

The input formatting block illustrated in FIG. 3 corresponds to anembodiment of the input formatting block 1000 described with referenceto FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a mode adaptation block of the input formatting block whenthe input signal corresponds to multiple input streams.

The mode adaptation block of the input formatting block for processingthe multiple input streams can independently process the multiple inputstreams.

Referring to FIG. 3, the mode adaptation block for respectivelyprocessing the multiple input streams can include an input streamsplitter 3000, an input stream synchronizer 3010, a compensating delayblock 3020, a null packet deletion block 3030, a head compression block3040, a CRC encoder 3050, a BB frame sheer 3060 and a BB headerinsertion block 3070. Description will be given of each block of themode adaptation block.

Operations of the CRC encoder 3050, BB frame slicer 3060 and BB headerinsertion block 3070 correspond to those of the CRC encoder, BB frameslicer and BB header insertion block described with reference to FIG. 2and thus description thereof is omitted.

The input stream splitter 3000 can split the input TS, IP, GS streamsinto multiple service or service component (audio, video, etc.) streams.

The input stream synchronizer 3010 may be referred as ISSY. The ISSY canprovide suitable means to guarantee Constant Bit Rate (CBR) and constantend-to-end transmission delay for any input data format. The ISSY isalways used for the case of multiple DPs carrying TS, and optionallyused for multiple DPs carrying GS streams.

The compensating delay block 3020 can delay the split TS packet streamfollowing the insertion of ISSY information to allow a TS packetrecombining mechanism without requiring additional memory in thereceiver.

The null packet deletion block 3030, is used only for the TS inputstream case. Some TS input streams or split TS streams may have a largenumber of null-packets present in order to accommodate VBR (variablebit-rate) services in a CBR TS stream. In this case, in order to avoidunnecessary transmission overhead, null-packets can be identified andnot transmitted. In the receiver, removed null-packets can bere-inserted in the exact place where they were originally by referenceto a deleted null-packet (DNP) counter that is inserted in thetransmission, thus guaranteeing constant bit-rate and avoiding the needfor time-stamp (PCR) updating.

The head compression block 3040 can provide packet header compression toincrease transmission efficiency for TS or IP input streams. Because thereceiver can have a priori information on certain parts of the header,this known information can be deleted in the transmitter.

For Transport Stream, the receiver has a-priori information about thesync-byte configuration (0x47) and the packet length (188 Byte). If theinput TS stream carries content that has only one PID, i.e., for onlyone service component (video, audio, etc.) or service sub-component (SVCbase layer, SVC enhancement layer, MVC base view or MVC dependentviews), TS packet header compression can be applied (optionally) to theTransport Stream. IP packet header compression is used optionally if theinput steam is an IP stream.

The above-described blocks may be omitted or replaced by blocks havingsimilar or identical functions.

FIG. 4 illustrates an input formatting block according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

The input formatting block illustrated in FIG. 4 corresponds to anembodiment of the input formatting block 1000 described with referenceto FIG 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a stream adaptation block of the input formattingmodule when the input signal corresponds to multiple input streams.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mode adaptation block for respectivelyprocessing the multiple input streams can include a scheduler 4000, an1-Frame delay block 4010, a stuffing insertion block 4020, an in-bandsignaling 4030, a BB Frame scrambler 4040, a PLS generation block 4050and a PLS scrambler 4060. Description will be given of each block of thestream adaptation block.

Operations of the stuffing insertion block 4020, the BB Frame scrambler4040, the PLS generation block 4050 and the PLS scrambler 4060correspond to those of the stuffing insertion block, BB scrambler, PLSgeneration block and the PLS scrambler described with reference to FIG.2 and thus description thereof is omitted.

The scheduler 4000 can determine the overall cell allocation across theentire frame from the amount of FECBLOCKs of each DP. Including theallocation for PLS, EAC and FIC, the scheduler generate the values ofPLS2-DYN data, which is transmitted as in-band signaling or PLS cell inFSS of the frame. Details of FECBLOCK, EAC and FIC will be describedlater.

The 1-Frame delay block 4010 can delay the input data by onetransmission frame such that scheduling information about the next framecan be transmitted through the current frame for in-band signalinginformation to be inserted into the DPs.

The in-hand signaling 4030 can insert un-delayed part of the PLS2 datainto a DP of a frame.

The above-described blocks may be omitted or replaced by blocks havingsimilar or identical functions.

FIG. 5 illustrates a BICM block according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

The BICM block illustrated in FIG 5 corresponds to an embodiment of theBICM block 1010 described with reference to FIG. 1.

As described above, the apparatus for transmitting broadcast signals forfuture broadcast services according to an embodiment of the presentinvention can provide a terrestrial broadcast service, mobile broadcastservice, UHDTV service, etc.

Since QoS (quality of service) depends on characteristics of a serviceprovided by the apparatus for transmitting broadcast signals for futurebroadcast services according to an embodiment of the present invention,data corresponding to respective services needs to be processed throughdifferent schemes. Accordingly, the a BICM block according to anembodiment of the present invention can independently process DPs inputthereto by independently applying SISO, MISO and MIMO schemes to thedata pipes respectively corresponding to data paths. Consequently, theapparatus for transmitting broadcast signals for future broadcastservices according to an embodiment of the present invention can controlQoS for each service or service component transmitted through each DP.

(a) shows the BICM block shared by the base profile and the handheldprofile and (b) shows the BICM block of the advanced profile.

The BICM block shared by the base profile and the handheld profile andthe BICM block of the advanced profile can include plural processingblocks for processing each DP.

A description will be given of each processing block of the BICM blockfor the base profile and the handheld profile and the BICM block for theadvanced profile.

A processing block 5000 of the BICM block for the base profile and thehandheld profile can include a Data FEC encoder 5010, a bit interleaver5020, a constellation mapper 5030, an SSD (Signal Space Diversity)encoding block 5040 and a time interleaver 5050.

The Data FEC encoder 5010 can perform the FEC encoding on the input BBFto generate FECBLOCK procedure using outer coding (BCH), and innercoding (LDPC). The outer coding (BCH) is optional coding method. Detailsof operations of the Data FEC encoder 5010 will be described later.

The bit interleaver 5020 can interleave outputs of the Data FEC encoder5010 to achieve optimized performance with combination of the LDPC codesand modulation scheme while providing an efficiently implementablestructure. Details of operations of the bit interleaver 5020 will bedescribed later

The constellation mapper 5030 can modulate each cell word from the bitinterleaver 5020 in the base and the handheld profiles, or cell wordfrom the Cell-word demultiplexer 5010-1 in the advanced profile usingeither QPSK, QAM-16, non-uniform QAM (NUQ-64, NUQ-256, NUQ-1024) ornon-uniform constellation (NUC-16, NUC-64, NUC-256, NUC-1024) to give apower-normalized constellation point, el. This constellation mapping isapplied only for DPs. Observe that QAM-16 and NUQs are square shaped,while NUCs have arbitrary shape. When each constellation is rotated byany multiple of 90 degrees, the rotated constellation exactly overlapswith its original one. This “rotation-sense” symmetric property makesthe capacities and the average powers of the real and imaginarycomponents equal to each other. Both NUQs and NUCs are definedspecifically for each code rate and the particular one used is signaledby the parameter DP_MOD filed in PLS2 data.

The SSD encoding block 5040 can precode cells in two (2D), three (3D),and four (4D) dimensions to increase the reception robustness underdifficult fading conditions.

The time interleaver 5050 can operates at the DP level. The parametersof time interleaving (TI) may be set differently for each DP. Details ofoperations of the time interleaver 5050 will be described later.

A processing block 5000-1 of the BICM block for the advanced profile caninclude the Data FEC encoder, bit interleaver, constellation mapper, andtime interleaver. However, the processing block 5000-1 is distinguishedfrom the processing block 5000 further includes a cell-worddemultiplexer 5010-1 and a MIMO encoding block 5020-1.

Also, the operations of the Data FEC encoder, bit interleaver,constellation mapper, and time interleaver in the processing block5000-1 correspond to those of the Data FEC encoder 5010, bit interleaver5020, constellation mapper 5030, and time interleaver 5050 described andthus description thereof is omitted.

The cell-word demultiplexer 5010-1 is used for the DP of the advancedprofile to divide the single cell-word stream into dual cell-wordstreams for MIMO processing. Details of operations of the cell-worddemultiplexer 5010-1 will be described later.

The MIMO encoding block 5020-1 can processing the output of thecell-word demultiplexer 5010-1 using MIMO encoding scheme. The MIMOencoding scheme was optimized for broadcasting signal transmission. TheMIMO technology is a promising way to get a capacity increase but itdepends on channel characteristics. Especially for broadcasting, thestrong LOS component of the channel or a difference in the receivedsignal power between two antennas caused by different signal propagationcharacteristics makes it difficult to get capacity gain from MIMO. Theproposed MIMO encoding scheme overcomes this problem using arotation-based pre-coding and phase randomization of one of the MIMOoutput signals.

MIMO encoding is intended for a 2×2 MIMO system requiring at least twoantennas at both the transmitter and the receiver. Two MIMO encodingmodes are defined in this proposal; full-rate spatial multiplexing(FR-SM) and full-rate full-diversity spatial multiplexing (FRFD-SM). TheFR-SM encoding provides capacity increase with relatively smallcomplexity increase at the receiver side while the FRFD-SM encodingprovides capacity increase and additional diversity gain with a greatcomplexity increase at the receiver side. The proposed MIMO encodingscheme has no restriction on the antenna polarity configuration.

MIMO processing is required for the advanced profile frame, which meansall DPs in the advanced profile frame are processed by the MIMO encoder.MIMO processing is applied at DP level. Pairs of the ConstellationMapper outputs NUQ (e1,i and e2,i) are fed to the input of the MIMOEncoder. Paired MIMO Encoder output (g1,i and g2,i) is transmitted bythe same carrier k and OFDM symbol 1 of their respective TX antennas.

The above-described blocks may be omitted or replaced by blocks havingsimilar or identical functions.

FIG. 6 illustrates a BICM block according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

The BICM block illustrated in FIG. 6 corresponds to an embodiment of theBICM block 1010 described with reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a BICM block for protection of physical layersignaling (PLS), emergency alert channel (EAC) and fast informationchannel (FIC) EAC is a part of a frame that carries EAS information dataand FIC is a logical channel in a frame that carries the mappinginformation between a service and the corresponding base DP. Details ofthe EAC and FIC will be described later.

Referring to FIG. 6, the BICM block for protection of PLS, EAC and FICcan include a PLS FEC encoder 6000, a bit interleaver 6010 and aconstellation mapper 6020.

Also, the PLS FEC encoder 6000 can include a scrambler, BCHencoding/zero insertion block, LDPC encoding block and LDPC paritypuncturing block. Description will be given of each block of the BICMblock.

The PLS FEC encoder 6000 can encode the scrambled PLS 1/2 data, EAC andFIC section.

The scrambler can scramble PLS1 data and PLS2 data before BCH encodingand shortened and punctured LDPC encoding.

The BCH encoding/zero insertion block can perform outer encoding on thescrambled PLS1/2 data using the shortened BCH code for PLS protectionand insert zero bits after the BCH encoding. For PLS1 data only, theoutput bits of the zero insertion may be permitted before LDPC encoding.

The LDPC encoding block can encode the output of the BCH encoding/zeroinsertion block using LDPC code. To generate a complete coded block,Cldpc, parity bits, Pldpc are encoded systematically from eachzero-inserted PLS information block, Ildpc and appended after it.

C _(ldpc)=[I _(ldpc) P _(ldpc)]=[i ₀ , i ₁ , . . . , i _(K) _(ldpc) ⁻¹ ,p ₀ , p ₁ , . . . , p _(N) _(ldpc) _(−K) _(ldpc) ⁻¹]  

Math Figure 1

The LDPC code parameters for PLS1 and PLS2 are as following table 4.

TABLE 4 Signaling K_(ldpc) code Type K_(sig) K_(bch) N_(bch)_parity(=N_(bch)) N_(ldpc) N_(ldpc)_parity rate Q_(ldpc) PLS1 342 1020 60 10804320 3240 1/4  36 PLS2 <1021 >1020 2100 2160 7200 5040 3/10 56

The LDPC parity puncturing block can perform puncturing on the PLS1 dataand PLS 2 data.

When shortening is applied to the PLS1 data protection, some LDPC paritybits are punctured after LDPC encoding. Also, for the PLS2 dataprotection, the LDPC parity bits of PLS2 are punctured after LDPCencoding. These punctured bits are not transmitted.

The bit interleaver 6010 can interleave the each shortened and puncturedPLS1 data and PLS2 data.

The constellation mapper 6020 can map the bit interleaved PLS1 data andPLS2 data onto constellations.

The above-described blocks may be omitted or replaced by blocks havingsimilar or identical functions.

FIG. 7 illustrates a frame building block according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

The frame building block illustrated in FIG. 7 corresponds to anembodiment of the frame building block 1020 described with reference toFIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 7, the frame building block can include a delaycompensation block 7000, a cell mapper 7010 and a frequency interleaver7020. Description will be given of each block of the frame buildingblock.

The delay compensation block 7000 can adjust the timing between the datapipes and the corresponding PLS data to ensure that they are co-timed atthe transmitter end. The PLS data is delayed by the same amount as datapipes are by addressing the delays of data pipes caused by the InputFormatting block and BICM block. The delay of the BICM block is mainlydue to the time interleaver. In-band signaling data carries informationof the next TI group so that they are carried one frame ahead of the DPsto be signaled. The Delay Compensating block delays in-band signalingdata accordingly.

The cell mapper 7010 can map PLS, EAC, FIC, DPs, auxiliary streams anddummy cells into the active carriers of the OFDM symbols in the frame.The basic function of the cell mapper 7010 is to map data cells producedby the TIs for each of the DPs, PLS cells, and EAC/FIC cells, if any,into arrays of active OFDM cells corresponding to each of the OFDMsymbols within a frame. Service signaling data (such as PSI(programspecific information)/SI) can be separately gathered and sent by a datapipe. The Cell Mapper operates according to the dynamic informationproduced by the scheduler and the configuration of the frame structure.Details of the frame will be described later.

The frequency interleaver 7020 can randomly interleave data cellsreceived from the cell mapper 7010 to provide frequency diversity. Also,the frequency interleaver 7020 can operate on very OFDM symbol paircomprised of two sequential OFDM symbols using a differentinterleaving-seed order to get maximum interleaving gain in a singleframe. Details of operations of the frequency interleaver 7020 will bedescribed later.

The above-described blocks may be omitted or replaced by blocks havingsimilar or identical functions.

FIG. 8 illustrates tin OFDM generation block according to an embodimentof the present invention.

The OFDM generation block illustrated in FIG. 8 corresponds to anembodiment of the OFDM generation block 1030 described with reference toFIG. 1.

The OFDM generation block modulates the OFDM earners by the cellsproduced by the Frame Building block, inserts the pilots, and producesthe time domain signal for transmission. Also, this block subsequentlyinserts guard intervals, and applies PAPR (Peak-to-Average Power Radio)reduction processing to produce the final RF signal.

Referring to FIG. 8, the frame building block can include a pilot andreserved tone insertion block 8000, a 2D-eSFN encoding block 8010, anIFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) block 8020, a PAPR reduction block8030, a guard interval insertion block 8040, a preamble insertion block8050, other system insertion block 8060 and a DAC block 8070.Description w ill be given of each block of the frame building block.

The pilot and reserved tone insertion block 8000 can insert pilots andthe reserved tone.

Various cells within the OFDM symbol are modulated with referenceinformation, known as pilots, which have transmitted values known apriori in the receiver. The information of pilot cells is made up ofscattered pilots, continual pilots, edge pilots, FSS (frame signalingsymbol) pilots and FES (frame edge symbol) pilots. Each pilot istransmitted at a particular boosted power level according to pilot typeand pilot pattern. The value of the pilot information is derived from areference sequence, which is a series of values, one for eachtransmitted carrier on any given symbol. The pilots can be used forframe synchronization, frequency synchronization, time synchronization,channel estimation, and transmission mode identification, and also canbe used to follow the phase noise.

Reference information, taken from the reference sequence, is transmittedin scattered pilot cells in every symbol except the preamble, FSS andFES of the frame. Continual pilots are inserted in every symbol of theframe. The number and location of continual pilots depends on both theFFT size and the scattered pilot pattern. The edge carriers are edgepilots in every symbol except for the preamble symbol. They are insertedin order to allow frequency interpolation up to the edge of thespectrum. FSS pilots are inserted in FSS(s) and FES pilots are insertedin FES. They are inserted in order to allow time interpolation up to theedge of the frame.

The system according to an embodiment of the present invention supportsthe SFN network, where distributed MISO scheme is optionally used tosupport very robust transmission mode. The 2D-eSFN is a distributed MISOscheme that uses multiple TX antennas, each of which is located in thedifferent transmitter site in the SFN network.

The 2D-eSFN encoding block 8010 can process a 2D-eSFN processing todistorts the phase of the signals transmitted from multipletransmitters, in order to create both time and frequency diversity inthe SFN configuration. Hence, burst errors due to low flat fading ordeep-fading for a long time can be mitigated.

The IFFT block 8020 can modulate the output from the 2D-eSFN encodingblock 8010 using OFDM modulation scheme. Any cell in the data symbolswhich has not been designated as a pilot (or as a reserved tone) carriesone of the data cells from the frequency interleaver. The cells aremapped to OFDM earners.

The PAPR reduction block 8030 can perform a PAPR reduction on inputsignal using various PAPR reduction algorithm in the time domain.

The guard interval insertion block 8040 can insert guard intervals andthe preamble insertion block 8050 can insert preamble in front of thesignal. Details of a structure of the preamble will be described later.The other system insertion block 8060 can multiplex signals of aplurality of broadcast transmission/reception systems in the time domainsuch that data of two or more different broadcast transmission/receptionsystems providing broadcast services can be simultaneously transmittedin the same RF signal bandwidth. In this case, the two or more differentbroadcast transmission/reception systems refer to systems providingdifferent broadcast services. The different broadcast services may referto a terrestrial broadcast service, mobile broadcast service, etc. Datarelated to respective broadcast services can be transmitted throughdifferent frames.

The DAC block 8070 can convert an input digital signal into an analogsignal and output the analog signal. The signal output from the DACblock 7800 can be transmitted through multiple output antennas accordingto the physical layer profiles. A Tx antenna according to an embodimentof the present invention can have vertical or horizontal polarity.

The above-described blocks may be omitted or replaced by blocks havingsimilar or identical functions according to design.

FIG. 9 illustrates a structure of an apparatus for receiving broadcastsignals for future broadcast services according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

The apparatus for receiving broadcast signals for future broadcastservices according to an embodiment of the present invention cancorrespond to the apparatus for transmitting broadcast signals forfuture broadcast services, described with reference to FIG. 1.

The apparatus for receiving broadcast signals for future broadcastservices according to an embodiment of the present invention can includea synchronization & demodulation module 9000, a frame parsing module9010, a demapping & decoding module 9020, an output processor 9030 and asignaling decoding module 9040. A description will be given of operationof each module of the apparatus for receiving broadcast signals.

The synchronization & demodulation module 9000 can receive input signalsthrough m Rx antennas, perform signal detection and synchronization withrespect to a system corresponding to the apparatus for receivingbroadcast signals and carry out demodulation corresponding to a reverseprocedure of the procedure performed by the apparatus for transmittingbroadcast signals.

The frame parsing module 9100 can parse input signal frames and extractdata through which a service selected by a user is transmitted. If theapparatus for transmitting broadcast signals performs interleaving, theframe parsing module 9100 can carry out deinterleaving corresponding toa reverse procedure of interleaving. In this case, the positions of asignal and data that need to be extracted can be obtained by decodingdata output from the signaling decoding module 9400 to restorescheduling information generated by the apparatus for transmittingbroadcast signals.

The demapping & decoding module 9200 can convert the input signals intobit domain data and then deinterleave the same as necessary. Thedemapping & decoding module 9200 can perform demapping for mappingapplied for transmission efficiency and correct an error generated on atransmission channel through decoding. In this case, the demapping &decoding module 9200 can obtain transmission parameters necessary fordemapping and decoding by decoding the data output from the signalingdecoding module 9400.

The output processor 9300 can perform reverse procedures of variouscompression/signal processing procedures which are applied by theapparatus for transmitting broadcast signals to improve transmissionefficiency. In this case, the output processor 9300 can acquirenecessary control information from data output from the signalingdecoding module 9400. The output of the output processor 8300corresponds to a signal input to the apparatus for transmittingbroadcast signals and may be MPEG-TSs, IP streams (v4 or v6) and genericstreams.

The signaling decoding module 9400 can obtain PLS information from thesignal demodulated by the synchronization & demodulation module 9000. Asdescribed above, the frame parsing module 9100, demapping & decodingmodule 9200 and output processor 9300 can execute functions thereofusing the data output from the signaling decoding module 9400.

FIG. 10 illustrates a frame structure according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 show s an example configuration of the frame types and FRUs in asuper-frame. (a) shows a super frame according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, (b) shows FRU (Frame Repetition Unit) according to anembodiment of the present invention, (c) shows frames of variable PHYprofiles in the FRU and (d) shows a structure of a frame.

A super-frame may be composed of eight FRUs. The FRU is a basicmultiplexing unit for TDM of the frames, and is repeated eight times ina super-frame.

Each frame in the FRU belongs to one of the PHY profiles, (base,handheld, advanced) or FEF. The maximum allowed number of the frames inthe FRU is four and a given PHY profile can appear any number of timesfrom zero times to four times in the FRU (e.g., base, base, handheld,advanced). PHY profile definitions can be extended using reserved valuesof the PHY_PROFILE in the preamble, if required.

The FEF part is inserted at the end of the FRU, if included. When theFEF is included in the FRU, the minimum number of FEFs is 8 in asuper-frame. It is not recommended that FEF parts be adjacent to eachother.

One frame is further divided into a number of OFDM symbols and apreamble. As shown in (d), the frame comprises a preamble, one or moreframe signaling symbols (FSS), normal data symbols and a frame edgesymbol (FES).

The preamble is a special symbol that enables fast Futurecast UTB systemsignal detection and provides a set of basic transmission parameters forefficient transmission and reception of the signal. The detaileddescription of the preamble will be will be described later.

The main purpose of the FSS(s) is to carry the PLS data. For fastsynchronization and channel estimation, and hence fast decoding of PLSdata, the FSS has more dense pilot pattern than the normal data symbol.The FES has exactly the same pilots as the FSS, which enablesfrequency-only interpolation within the FES and temporal interpolation,without extrapolation, for symbols immediately preceding the FES.

FIG. 11 illustrates a signaling hierarchy structure of the frameaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates the signaling hierarchy structure, which is splitinto three main parts: the preamble signaling data 11000, the PLS1 data11010 and the PLS2 data 11020. The purpose of the preamble, which iscarried by the preamble symbol in every frame, is to indicate thetransmission type and basic transmission parameters of that frame. ThePLS1 enables the receiver to access and decode the PLS2 data whichcontains the parameters to access the DP of interest. The PLS2 iscarried in every frame and split into two main parts: PLS2-STAT data andPLS2-DYN data. The static and dynamic portion of PLS2 data is followedby padding, if necessary.

FIG. 12 illustrates preamble signaling data according to an embodimentof the present invention.

Preamble signaling data carries 21 bits of information that are neededto enable the receiver to access PLS data and trace DPs within the framestructure. Details of the preamble signaling data are as follows:

PHY_PROFILE: This 3-bit field indicates the PHY profile type of thecurrent frame. The mapping of different PHY profile types is given inbelow table 5.

TABLE 5 Value PHY profile 000 Base profile 001 Handheld profile 010Advanced profiled 011~110 Reserved 111 FEF

FFT_SIZE: This 2 bit field indicates the FFT size of the current framewithin a frame-group, as described in below table 6.

TABLE 6 Value FFT size 00  8K FFT 01 16K FFT 10 32K FFT 11 Reserved

GI_FRACTION: This 3 bit field indicates the guard interval fractionvalue in the current super-frame, as described in below table 7.

TABLE 7 Value GI_FRACTION 000 1/5  001 1/10 010 1/20 011 1/40 100 1/80101  1/160 110~111 Reserved

EAC_FLAG: This 1 bit field indicates whether the EAC is provided in thecurrent frame. If this field is set to ‘1’, emergency alert service(EAS) is provided in the current frame. If this field set to ‘0’, EAS isnot carried in the current frame. This field can be switched dynamicallywithin a super-frame.

PILOT_MODE. This 1-bit field indicates whether the pilot mode is mobilemode or fixed mode for the current frame in the current frame-group. Ifthis field is set to ‘0’, mobile pilot mode is used. If the field is setto ‘1’, the fixed pilot mode is used.

PAPR_FLAG: This 1-bit field indicates whether PAPR reduction is used forthe current frame in the current frame-group. If this field is set tovalue ‘1’, tone reservation is used for PAPR reduction. If this field isset to ‘0’, PAPR reduction is not used.

FRU_CONFIGURE: This 3-bit field indicates the PHY profile typeconfigurations of the frame repetition units (FRU) that are present inthe current super-frame. All profile types conveyed in the currentsuper-frame are identified in this field in all preambles in the currentsuper-frame. The 3-bit field has a different definition for eachprofile, as show in below table 8.

TABLE 8 Current Current Current PHY_PROFILE = PHY_PROFILE = CurrentPHY_PROFILE = ‘001’ ‘010’ PHY_PROFILE = ‘000’ (base) (handheld)(advanced) ‘111’ (FEF) FRU_CONFIGURE = Only base Only handheld Onlyadvanced Only FEF 000 profile profile present profile present presentpresent FRU_CONFIGURE = Handheld profile Base profile Base profile Baseprofile 1XX present present present present FRU_CONFIGURE = AdvancedAdvanced Handheld profile Handheld profile X1X profile profile presentpresent present present FRU_CONFIGURE = FEF FEF FEF Advanced XX1 presentpresent present profile present

RESERVED: This 7-bit field is reserved for future use.

FIG. 13 illustrates PLS1 data according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

PLS1 data provides basic transmission parameters including parametersrequired to enable the reception and decoding of the PLS2. As abovementioned, the PLS1 data remain unchanged for the entire duration of oneframe-group. The detailed definition of the signaling fields of the PLS1data are as follows:

PREAMBLE_DATA: This 20-bit field is a copy of the preamble signalingdata excluding the EAC_FLAG.

NUM_FRAME_FRU: This 2-bit field indicates the number of the frames perFRU.

PAYLOAD_TYPE: This 3-bit field indicates the format of the payload datacarried in the frame-group. PAYLOAD_TYPE is signaled as shown in table9.

TABLE 9 value Payload type 1XX TS stream is transmitted X1X IP stream istransmitted XX1 GS stream is transmitted

NUM_FSS: This 2-bit field indicates the number of FSS symbols in thecurrent frame.

SYSTEM_VERSION: This 8-bit field indicates the version of thetransmitted signal format. The SYSTEM_VERSION is divided into two 4-bitfields, which are a major version and a minor version.

Major version: The MSB four bits of SYSTEM_VERSION field indicate majorversion information. A change in the major version field indicates anon-backward-compatible change. The default value is ‘0000’. For theversion described in this standard, the value is set to ‘0000’.

Minor version: The LSB four bits of SYSTEM_VERSION field indicate minorversion information. A change in the minor version field isbackward-compatible.

CELL_ID: This is a 16-bit field which uniquely identifies a geographiccell in an ATSC network. An ATSC cell coverage area may consist of oneor more frequencies, depending on the number of frequencies used perFuturecast UTB system. If the value of the CELL_ID is not known orunspecified, this field is set to ‘0’.

NETWORK_ID: This is a 16-bit field which uniquely identifies the currentATSC network.

SYSTEM_ID: This 16-bit field uniquely identifies the Futurecast UTBsystem within the ATSC network. The Futurecast UTB system is theterrestrial broadcast system whose input is one or more input streams(TS, IP, GS) and whose output is an RF signal. The Futurecast UTB systemcarries one or more PHY profiles and FEF, if any. The same FuturecastUTB system may carry different input streams and use different RFfrequencies in different geographical areas, allowing local serviceinsertion. The frame structure and scheduling is controlled in one placeand is identical for all transmissions within a Futurecast UTB system.One or more Futurecast UTB systems may have the same SYSTEM_ID meaningthat they all have the same physical layer structure and configuration.

The following loop consists of FRU_PHY_PROFILE, FRU_FRAME_LENGTH,FRU_GI_FRACTION, and RESERVED which are used to indicate the FRUconfiguration and the length of each frame type. The loop size is fixedso that four PHY profiles (including a FEF) are signaled within the FRU.If NUM_FRAME_FRU is less than 4, the unused fields are filled withzeros.

FRU_PHY_PROFILE: This 3-bit field indicates the PHY profile type of the(i+1)th (i is the loop index) frame of the associated FRU. This fielduses the same signaling format as shown in the table 8.

FRU_FRAME_LENGTH. This 2-bit field indicates the length of the (i+1)thframe of the associated FRU. Using FRU_FRAME_LENGTH together withFRU_GI_FRACTION, the exact value of the frame duration can be obtained.

FRU_GI_FRACTION: This 3-bit Field indicates the guard interval fractionvalue of the (i+1)th frame of the associated FRU. FRU_GI_FRACTION issignaled according to the table 7.

RESERVED: This 4-bit field is reserved for future use.

The following fields provide parameters for decoding the PLS2 data.

PLS2_FEC_TYPE: This 2-bit field indicates the FEC type used by the PLS2protection The FEC type is signaled according to table 10. The detailsof the LDPC codes will be described later.

TABLE 10 Content PLS2 FEC type 00 4K-1/4 and 7K-3/I0 LDPC codes 01~11Reserved

PLS2_MOD: This 3-bit field indicates the modulation type used by thePLS2. The modulation type is signaled according to table 11.

TABLE 11 Value PLS2_MODE 000 BPSK 001 QPSK 010 QAM-16 011 NUQ-64 100~111Reserved

PLS2_SIZE_CELL: This 15-bit field indicates C_(total_partial_block), thesize (specified as the number of QAM cells) of the collection of fullcoded blocks for PLS2 that is carried in the current frame-group. Thisvalue is constant during the entire duration of the current frame-group.

PLS2_STAT_SIZE_BIT: This 14-bit field indicates the size, in bits, ofthe PLS2-STAT for the current frame-group. Tins value is constant duringthe entire duration of the current frame-group

PLS2_DYN_SIZE_BIT: This 14-bit field indicates the size, in bits, of thePLS2-DYN for the current frame-group. This value is constant during theentire duration of the current frame-group.

PLS2_REP_FLAG: This 1-bit flag indicates whether the PLS2 repetitionmode is used in the current frame-group. When this field is set to value‘1’, the PLS2 repetition mode is activated. When this field is set tovalue ‘0’, the PLS2 repetition mode is deactivated.

PLS2_REP_SIZE_CELL: This 15-bit field indicates Ctotal_partial_block,the size (specified as the number of QAM cells) of the collection ofpartial coded blocks for PLS2 carried in every frame of the currentframe-group, when PLS2 repetition is used. If repetition is not used,the value of this field is equal to 0. This value is constant during theentire duration of the current frame-group.

PLS2_NEXT_FEC_TYPE: This 2-bit field indicates the FEC type used forPLS2 that is carried in even frame of the next frame-group. The FEC typeis signaled according to the table 10.

PLS2_NEXT_MOD: This 3-bit field indicates the modulation type used forPLS2 that is carried in even frame of the next frame-group. Themodulation type is signaled according to the table 11.

PLS2_NEXT_REP_FLAG: This 1-bit flag indicates whether the PLS2repetition mode is used in the next frame-group. When this field is setto value ‘1’, the PLS2 repetition mode is activated. When this field isset to value ‘0’, the PLS2 repetition mode is deactivated.

PLS2_NEXT_REP_SIZE_CELL: This 15-bit field indicates Ctotal_full_block,The size (specified as the number of QAM cells) of the collection offull coded blocks for PLS2 that is carried in even frame of the nextframe-group, when PLS2 repetition is used. If repetition is not used inthe next frame-group, the value of this field is equal to 0. This valueis constant during the entire duration of the current frame-group.

PLS2_NEXT_REP_STAT_SIZE_BIT: This 14-bit field indicates the size, inbits, of the PLS2-STAT for the next frame-group. This value is constantin the current frame-group.

PLS2_NEXT_REP_DYN_SIZE_BIT: This 14-bit field indicates the size, inbits, of the PLS2-DYN for the next frame-group. This value is constantin the current frame-group

PLS2_AP_MODE: This 2-bit field indicates whether additional parity isprovided for PLS2 in the current frame-group. This value is constantduring the entire duration of the current frame-group. The below table12 gives the values of this field. When this field is set to ‘00’,additional parity is not used for the PLS2 in the current frame-group.

TABLE 12 Value PLS2-AP mode 00 AP is not provided 01 AP1 mode 10~11Reserved

PLS2_AP_SIZE_CELL: This 15-bit field indicates the size (specified asthe number of QAM cells) of the additional parity bits of the PLS2. Thisvalue is constant during the entire duration of the current frame-group.

PLS2_NEXT_AP_MODE: This 2-bit field indicates whether additional parityis provided for PLS2 signaling in every frame of next frame-group. Thisvalue is constant during the entire duration of the current frame-group.The table 12 defines the values of this field

PLS2_NEXT_AP_SIZE_CELL: This 15-bit field indicates the size (specifiedas the number of QAM cells) of the additional parity bits of the PLS2 inevery frame of the next frame-group This value is constant during theentire duration of the current frame-group.

RESERVED: This 32-bit field is reserved for future use.

CRC_32: A 32-bit error detection code, which is applied to the entirePLS1 signaling.

FIG. 14 illustrates PLS2 data according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 illustrates PLS2-STAT data of the PLS2 data. The PLS2-STAT dataare the same within a frame-group, while the PLS2-DYN data provideinformation that is specific for the current frame.

The details of fields of the PLS2-STAT data are as follows:

FIC_FLAG: This 1-bit field indicates whether the FIC is used in thecurrent frame-group. If this field is set to ‘1’, the FIC is provided inthe current frame. If this field set to ‘0’, the FIC is not carried inthe current frame. This value is constant during the entire duration ofthe current frame-group.

AUX_FLAG: This 1-bit field indicates whether the auxiliary stream(s) isused in the current frame-group. If this field is set to ‘1’, theauxiliary stream is provided in the current frame. If this field set to‘0’, the auxiliary stream is not carried in the current frame. Thisvalue is constant during the entire duration of current frame-group.

NUM_DP: This 6-bit field indicates the number of DPs carried within thecurrent frame. The value of this field ranges from 1 to 64, and thenumber of DPs is NUM_DP+1.

DP_ID: This 6-bit field identifies uniquely a DP within a PHY profile.

DP_TYPE: This 3-bit field indicates the type of the DP. This is signaledaccording to the below table 13.

TABLE 13 Value DP Type 000 DP Type 1 001 DP Type 2 010~111 reserved

DP_GROUP_ID: This 8-bit field identifies the DP group with which thecurrent DP is associated. This can be used by a receiver to access theDPs of the service components associated with a particular service,which will have the same DP_GROUP_ID.

BASE_DP_ID: This 6-bit field indicates the DP carrying service signalingdata (such as PSI/SI) used in the Management layer. The DP indicated byBASE_DP_ID may be either a normal DP carrying the service signaling dataalong with the service data or a dedicated DP carrying only the servicesignaling data.

DP_FEC_TYPE: This 2-bit field indicates the FEC type used by theassociated DP. The FEC type is signaled according to the below table 14.

TABLE 14 Value FEC_TYPE 00 16K LDPC 01 64K LDPC 10~11 Reserved

DP_COD: This 4-bit field indicates the code rate used by the associatedDP. The code rate is signaled according to the below table 15.

TABLE 15 Value Code rate 0000  5/15 0001  6/15 0010  7/15 0011  8/150100  9/15 0101 10/15 0110 11/15 0111 12/15 1000 13/15 1001~1111Reserved

DP_MOD: This 4-bit field indicates the modulation used by the associatedDP. The modulation is signaled according to the below table 16.

TABLE 16 Value Modulation 0000 QPSK 0001 QAM-16 0010 NUQ-64 0011 NUQ-2560100 NUQ-1024 0101 NUC-16 0110 NUC-64 0111 NUC-256 1000 NUC-10241001~1111 reservedDP_SSD_FLAG: This 1-bit field indicates whether the SSD mode is used inthe associated DP. If this field is set to value ‘1’, SSD is used. Ifthis field is set to value ‘0’, SSD is not used.

The following field appears only if PHY_PROFILE is equal to ‘010’, whichindicates the advanced profile:

DP_MIMO: This 3-bit field indicates which type of MIMO encoding processis applied to the associated DP. The type of MIMO encoding process issignaled according to the table 17.

TABLE 17 Value MIMO encoding 000 FR-SM 001 FRFD-SM 010~111 reserved

DP_TI_TYPE: This 1-bit field indicates the type of time-interleaving. Avalue of ‘0’ indicates that one TI group corresponds to one frame andcontains one or more TI-blocks. A value of ‘1’ indicates that one TIgroup is carried in more than one frame and contains only one TI-block.

DP_TI_LENGTH: The use of this 2-bit field (the allowed values are only1, 2, 4, 8) is determined by the values set within the DP_TI_TYPE fieldas follows:

If the DP_TI_TYPE is set to the value ‘1’, this field indicates PI, thenumber of the frames to which each TI group is mapped, and there is oneTI-block per TI group (NTI=1). The allowed PI values with 2-bit fieldare defined in the below table 18.

If the DP_TI_TYPE is set to the value ‘0’, this field indicates thenumber of TI-blocks NTI per TI group, and there is one TI group perframe (PI=1). The allowed PI values with 2-bit field are defined in thebelow table 18.

TABLE 18 2-bit field P₁ N_(TI) 00 1 1 01 2 2 10 4 3 11 8 4

DP_FRAME_INTERVAL: This 2-bit field indicates the frame interval(I_(JUMP)) within the frame-group for the associated DP and the allowedvalues are 1, 2, 4, 8 (the corresponding 2-bit field is ‘00’, ‘01’,‘10’, or ‘11’, respectively). For DPs that do not appear every frame ofthe frame-group, the value of this field is equal to the intervalbetween successive frames. For example, if a DP appears on the frames 1,5, 9, 13, etc., this field is set to ‘4’. For DPs that appear in everyframe, this field is set to ‘1’.

DP_TI_BYPASS: This 1-bit field determines the availability of timeinterleaver. If time interleaving is not used for a DP, it is set to‘1’. Whereas if time interleaving is used it is set to ‘0’.

DP_FIRST_FRAME_IDX: This 5-bit field indicates the index of the firstframe of the super-frame in which the current DP occurs. The value ofDP_FIRST_FRAME_IDX ranges from 0 to 31.

DP_NUM_BLOCK_MAX: This 10-bit field indicates the maximum value ofDP_NUM_BLOCKS for this DP. The value of this field has the same range asDP_NUM_BLOCKS.

DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE: This 2-bit field indicates the type of the payload datacarried by the given DP. DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is signaled according to thebelow table 19.

TABLE 19 Value Payload Type 00 TS. 01 IP 10 GS 11 reserved

DP_INBAND_MODE: This 2-bit field indicates whether the current DPcarries in-band signaling information. The in-band signaling type issignaled according to the below table 20.

TABLE 20 Value In-band mode 00 In-band signaling is not carried. 01INBAND-PLS is carried only 10 INBAND-ISSY is carried only 11 INBAND-PLSand INBAND-ISSY are carried

DP_PROTOCOL_TYPE: This 2-bit field indicates the protocol type of thepayload carried by the given DP. It is signaled according to the belowtable 21 when input payload types are selected.

TABLE 21 If DP_ If DP_ If DP_ PAYLOAD_TYPE PAYLOAD_TYPE PAYLOAD_TYPEValue Is TS Is IP Is GS 00 MPEG2-TS IPv4 (Note) 01 Reserved IPv6Reserved 10 Reserved Reserved Reserved 11 Reserved Reserved Reserved

DP_CRC_MODE: This 2-bit field indicates whether CRC encoding is used inthe Input Formatting block. The CRC mode is signaled according to thebelow table 22.

TABLE 22 Value CRC mode 00 Not used 01 CRC-8 10 CRC-16 11 CRC-32

DNP_MODE: This 2-bit field indicates the null-packet deletion mode usedby the associated DP when DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is set to TS (‘00’). DNP_MODEis signaled according to the below table 23. If DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is notTS (‘00’), DNP_MODE is set to the value ‘00’.

TABLE 23 Value Null-packet deletion mode 00 Not used 01 DNP-NORMAL 10DNP-OFFSET 11 reserved

ISSY_MODE: This 2-bit field indicates the ISSY mode used by theassociated DP when DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is set to TS (‘00’). The ISSY_MODE issignaled according to the below table 24 if DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is not TS(‘00’), ISSY_MODE is set to the value ‘00’.

TABLE 24 Value ISSY mode 00 Not used 01 ISSY-UP 10 ISSY-BBF 11 reserved

HC_MODE_TS: This 2-bit field indicates the TS header compression modeused by the associated DP when DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is set to TS (‘00’). TheHC_MODE_TS is signaled according to the below table 25.

TABLE 25 Value Header compression mode 00 HC_MODE_TS 1 01 HC_MODE_TS 210 HC_MODE_TS 3 11 HC_MODE_TS 4

HC_MODE_IP: This 2-bit field indicates the IP header compression modewhen DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is set to IP (‘01’). The HC_MODE_IP is signaledaccording to the below table 26.

TABLE 26 Value Header compression mode 00 No compression 01 HC_MODE_IP 110~11 reserved

PID: This 13-bit field indicates the PID number for TS headercompression when DP_PAYLOAD_TYPE is set to TS (‘00’) and HC_MODE_TS isset to ‘01’ or ‘10’.

RESERVED. This 8-bit field is reserved for future use.

The following field appears only if FIC_FLAG is equal to ‘1’:

FIC_VERSION: This 8-bit field indicates the version number of the FIC.

FIC_LENGTH_BYTE: This 13-bit field indicates the length, in bytes, ofthe FIC.

RESERVED: This 8-bit field is reserved for future use.

The following field appears only if AUX_FLAG is equal to ‘1’:

NUM_AUX: This 4-bit field indicates the number of auxiliary streams.Zero means no auxiliary streams are used.

AUX_CONFIG_RFU: This 8-bit field is reserved for future use.

AUX_STREAM_TYPE: This 4-bit is reserved for future use for indicatingthe type of the current auxiliary stream.

AUX_PRIVATE_CONFIG: This 28-bit field is reserved for future use forsignaling auxiliary streams.

FIG. 15 illustrates PLS2 data according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates PLS2-DYN data of the PLS2 data. The values of thePLS2-DYN data may change during the duration of one frame-group, whilethe size of fields remains constant.

The details of fields of the PLS2-DYN data are as follows:

FRAME_INDEX: This 5-bit field indicates the frame index of the currentframe within the super-frame. The index of the first frame of thesuper-frame is set to ‘0’.

PLS_CHANGE_COUNTER: This 4-bit field indicates the number ofsuper-frames ahead where the configuration will change. The nextsuper-frame with changes in the configuration is indicated by the valuesignaled within this field. If this field is set to the value ‘0000’, itmeans that no scheduled change is foreseen: e.g., value ‘1’ indicatesthat there is a change in the next super-frame.

FIC_CHANGE_COUNTER: This 4-bit field indicates the number ofsuper-frames ahead where the configuration (i.e., the contents of theFIC) will change. The next super-frame with changes in the configurationis indicated by the value signaled within this field. If this field isset to the value ‘0000’, it means that no scheduled change is foreseen:e.g. value ‘0001’ indicates that there is a change in the nextsuper-frame.

RESERVED: This 16-bit field is reserved for future use.

The following fields appear in the loop over NUM_DP, which describe theparameters associated with the DP carried in the current frame.

DP_ID: This 6-bit field indicates uniquely the DP within a PHY profile.

DP_START: This 15-bit (or 13-bit) field indicates the start position ofthe first of the DPs using the DPU addressing scheme. The DP_START fieldhas differing length according to the PHY profile find FFT size as shownin the below table 27.

TABLE 27 DP_START field size PHY profile 64K 16K Base 13 bit 15 bitHandheld — 13 bit Advanced 13 bit 15 bit

DP_NUM_BLOCK: This 10-bit field indicates the number of FEC blocks inthe current TI group for the current DP. The value of DP_NUM_BLOCKranges from 0 to 1023.

RESERVED: This 8-bit field is reserved for future use.

The following fields indicate the FIC parameters associated with theEAC.

EAC_FLAG: This 1-bit field indicates the existence of the EAC in thecurrent frame. This bit is the same value as the EAC_FLAG in thepreamble.

EAS_WAKE_UP_VERSION_NUM: This 8-bit field indicates the version numberof a wake-up indication.

If the EAC_FLAG field is equal to ‘1’, the following 12 bits areallocated for EAC_LENGTH_BYTE field. If the EAC_FLAG field is equal to‘0’, the following 12 bits are allocated for EAC_COUNTER.

EAC_LENGTH_BYTE: This 12-bit field indicates the length, in byte, of theEAC.

EAC_COUNTER: This 12-bit field indicates the number of the frames beforethe frame where the EAC arrives.

The following field appears only if the AUX_FLAG field is equal to ‘1’:

AUX_PRIVATE_DYN: This 48-bit field is reserved for future use forsignaling auxiliary streams. The meaning of this field depends on thevalue of AUX_STREAM_TYPE in the configurable PLS2-STAT.

CRC_32: A 32-bit error detection code, which is applied to the entirePLS2.

FIG. 16 illustrates a logical structure of a frame according to anembodiment of the present invention.

As above mentioned, the PLS, EAC, FIC, DPs, auxiliary streams and dummycells are mapped into the active carriers of the OFDM symbols in theframe. The PLS1 and PLS2 are first mapped into one or more FSS(s). Afterthat, EAC cells, if any, are mapped immediately following the PLS field,followed next by FIC cells, if any. The DPs are mapped next after thePLS or EAC, FIC, if any. Type 1 DPs follows first, and Type 2 DPs next.The details of a type of the DP will be described later. In some case,DPs may carry some special data for EAS or service signaling data. Theauxiliary stream or streams, if any, follow the DPs, which in turn arefollowed by dummy cells. Mapping them all together in the abovementioned order, i.e. PLS, EAC, FIC, DPs, auxiliary streams and dummydata cells exactly fill the cell capacity in the frame.

FIG. 17 illustrates PLS mapping according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

PLS cells are mapped to the active earners of FSS(s). Depending on thenumber of cells occupied by PLS, one or more symbols are designated asFSS(s), and the number of FSS(s) NFSS is signaled by NUM_FSS in PLS1.The FSS is a special symbol for carrying PLS cells. Since robustness andlatency are critical issues in the PLS, the FSS(s) has higher density ofpilots allowing fast synchronization and frequency-only interpolationwithin the FSS.

PLS cells are mapped to active carriers of the NFSS FSS(s) in a top-downmanner as shown in an example in FIG. 17. The PLS1 cells are mappedfirst from the first cell of the first FSS in an increasing order of thecell index. The PLS2 cells follow immediately after the last cell of thePLS1 and mapping continues downward until the last cell index of thefirst FSS. If the total number of required PLS cells exceeds the numberof active earners of one FSS, mapping proceeds to the next FSS andcontinues in exactly the same manner as the first FSS.

After PLS mapping is completed, DPs are carried next. If EAC, FIC orboth are present in the current frame, they are placed between PLS and“normal” DPs.

FIG. 18 illustrates EAC mapping according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

EAC is a dedicated channel for carrying EAS messages and links to theDPs for EAS. EAS support is provided but EAC itself may or may not bepresent in every frame. EAC, if any, is mapped immediately after thePLS2 cells. EAC is not preceded by any of the FIC, DPs, auxiliarystreams or dummy cells other than the PLS cells. The procedure ofmapping the EAC cells is exactly the same as that of the PLS.

The EAC cells are mapped from the next cell of the PLS2 in increasingorder of the cell index as shown in the example in FIG. 18. Depending onthe EAS message size, EAC cells may occupy a few symbols, as shown inFIG. 18.

EAC cells follow immediately after the last cell of the PLS2, andmapping continues downward until the last cell index of the last FSS. Ifthe total number of required EAC cells exceeds the number of remainingactive carriers of the last FSS mapping proceeds to the next symbol andcontinues in exactly the same manner as FSS(s). The next symbol formapping in this case is the normal data symbol, which has more activecarriers than a FSS.

After EAC mapping is completed, the FIC is carried next, if any exists.If FIC is not transmitted (as signaled in the PLS2 field), DPs followimmediately after the last cell of the EAC.

FIG. 19 illustrates FIC mapping according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

(a) shows an example mapping of FIC cell without EAC and (b) shows anexample mapping of FIC cell with EAC.

FIC is a dedicated channel for carrying cross-layer information toenable fast service acquisition and channel scanning. This informationprimarily includes channel binding information between DPs and theservices of each broadcaster. For fast scan, a receiver can decode FICand obtain information such as broadcaster ID, number of services, andBASE_DP_ID. For fast service acquisition, in addition to FIC, base DPcan be decoded using BASE_DP_ID. Other than the content it carries, abase DP is encoded and mapped to a frame in exactly the same way as anormal DP. Therefore, no additional description is required for a baseDP. The FIC data is generated and consumed in the Management Layer. Thecontent of FIC data is as described in the Management Layerspecification.

The FIC data is optional and the use of FIC is signaled by the FIC_FLAGparameter in the static part of the PLS2. If FIC is used, FIC_FLAG isset to ‘1’ and the signaling field for FIC is defined in the static partof PLS2. Signaled in this field are FIC_VERSION, and FIC_LENGTH_BYTE.FIC uses the same modulation, coding and time interleaving parameters asPLS2. FIC shares the same signaling parameters such as PLS2_MOD andPLS2_FEC. FIC data, if any, is mapped immediately after PLS2 or EAC ifany. FIC is not preceded by any normal DPs, auxiliary streams or dummycells. The method of mapping FIC cells is exactly the same as that ofEAC which is again the same as PLS.

Without EAC after PLS, FIC cells are mapped from the next cell of thePLS2 in an increasing order of the cell index as shown in an example in(a). Depending on the FIC data size, FIC cells may be mapped over a fewsymbols, as shown in (b).

FIC cells follow immediately after the last cell of the PLS2, andmapping continues downward until the last cell index of the last FSS. Ifthe total number of required FIC cells exceeds the number of remainingactive carriers of the last FSS, mapping proceeds to the next symbol andcontinues in exactly the same manner as FSS(s). The next symbol formapping in this case is the normal data symbol which has more activecarriers than a FSS.

If EAS messages are transmitted in the current frame, EAC precedes FIC,and FIC cells are mapped from the next cell of the EAC in an increasingorder of the cell index as shown in (b).

After FIC mapping is completed, one or more DPs are mapped, followed byauxiliary streams, if any, and dummy cells.

FIG. 20 illustrates a type of DP according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

(a) shows type 1 DP and (b) shows type 2 DP.

After the preceding channels, i.e., PLS, EAC and FIC, are mapped, cellsof the DPs are mapped. A DP is categorized into one of two typesaccording to mapping method:

Type 1 DP: DP is mapped by TDM

Type 2 DP: DP is mapped by FDM

The type of DP is indicated by DP_TYPE field in the static part of PLS2.FIG. 20 illustrates the mapping orders of Type 1 DPs and Type 2 DPs.Type 1 DPs are first mapped in the increasing order of cell index, andthen alter reaching the last cell index, the symbol index is increasedby one. Within the next symbol, the DP continues to be mapped in theincreasing order of cell index starting from p=0. With a number of DPsmapped together in one frame, each of the Type 1 DPs are grouped intime, similar to TDM multiplexing of DPs.

Type 2 DPs are first mapped in the increasing order of symbol index, andthen after reaching the last OFDM symbol of the frame, the cell indexincreases by one and the symbol index rolls back to the first availablesymbol and then increases from that symbol index. After mapping a numberof DPs together in one frame, each of the Type 2 DPs are grouped infrequency together, similar to FDM multiplexing of DPs.

Type 1 DPs and Type 2 DPs can coexist in a frame if needed with onerestriction; Type 1 DPs always precede Type 2 DPs. The total number ofOFDM cells carrying Type 1 and Type 2 DPs cannot exceed the total numberof OFDM cells available for transmission of DPs:

D _(DP1) +D _(DP2) ≤D _(DP)   

Math Figure 2

where DDP1 is the number of OFDM cells occupied by Type 1 DPs, DDP2 isthe number of cells occupied by Type 2 DPs. Since PLS, EAC, FIC are allmapped in the same way as Type 1 DP, they all follow “Type 1 mappingrule”. Hence, overall, Type 1 mapping always precedes Type 2 mapping.

FIG. 21 illustrates DP mapping according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

(a) shows an addressing of OFDM cells for mapping type 1 DPs and (b)shows an addressing of OFDM cells for mapping for type 2 DPs.

Addressing of OFDM cells for mapping Type 1 DPs (0, . . . , DDP11) isdefined for the active data cells of Type 1 DPs. The addressing schemedefines the order in which the cells from the TIs for each of the Type 1DPs are allocated to the active data cells. It is also used to signalthe locations of the DPs in the dynamic part of the PLS2.

Without EAC and FIC, address 0 refers to the cell immediately followingthe last cell carrying PLS in the last FSS. If EAC is transmitted andFIC is not in the corresponding frame, address 0 refers to the cellimmediately following the last cell carrying EAC. If FIC is transmittedin the corresponding frame, address 0 refers to the cell immediatelyfollowing the last cell carrying FIC. Address 0 for Type 1 DPs can becalculated considering two different cases as shown in (a). In theexample in (a), PLS, EAC and FIC are assumed to be all transmitted.Extension to the cases where either or both of EAC and FIC are omittedis straightforward. If there are remaining cells in the FSS aftermapping all the cells up to FIC as shown on the left side of (a).

Addressing of OFDM cells for mapping Type 2 DPs (0, . . . , DDP21) isdefined for the active data cells of Type 2 DPs. The addressing schemedefines the order in which the cells from the TIs for each of the Type 2DPs are allocated to the active data cells. It is also used to signalthe locations of the DPs in the dynamic part of the PLS2.

Three slightly different cases are possible as shown in (b). For thefirst case shown on the left side of (b), cells in the last FSS areavailable for Type 2 DP mapping. For the second case shown in themiddle, FIC occupies cells of a normal symbol, but the number of FICcells on that symbol is not larger than CFSS. The third case, shown onthe right side in (b), is the same as the second case except that thenumber of FIC cells mapped on that symbol exceeds CFSS.

The extension to the case where Type 1 DP(s) precede Type 2 DP(s) isstraightforward since PLS, EAC and FIC follow the same “Type 1 mappingrule” as the Type 1 DP(s).

A data pipe unit (DPU) is a basic unit for allocating data cells to a DPin a frame.

A DPU is defined as a signaling unit for locating DPs in a frame A CellMapper 7010 may map the cells produced by the TIs for each of the DPs. ATime interleaver 5050 outputs a series of TI-blocks and each TI-blockcomprises a variable number of XFECBLOCKs which is in turn composed of aset of cells. The number of cells in an XFECBLOCK, Ncells, is dependenton the FECBLOCK size, Nldpc, and the number of transmitted bits perconstellation symbol. A DPU is defined as the greatest common divisor ofall possible values of the number of cells in a XFECBLOCK, Ncells,supported in a given PHY profile. The length of a DPU in cells isdefined as LDPU. Since each PHY profile supports different combinationsof FECBLOCK size and a different number of bits per constellationsymbol, LDPU is defined on a PHY profile basis.

FIG. 22 illustrates an FEC structure according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 22 illustrates an FEC structure according to an embodiment of thepresent invention before bit interleaving. As above mentioned, Data FECencoder may perform the FEC encoding on the input BBF to generateFECBLOCK procedure using outer coding (BCH), and inner coding (LDPC).The illustrated FEC structure corresponds to the FECBLOCK. Also, theFECBLOCK and the FEC structure have same value corresponding to a lengthof LDPC codeword.

The BCH encoding is applied to each BBF (Kbch bits), and then LDPCencoding is applied to BCH-encoded BBF (Kldpc bits=Nbch bits) asillustrated in FIG. 22.

The value of Nldpc is either 64800 bits (long FECBLOCK) or 16200 bits(short FECBLOCK).

The below table 28 and table 29 show FEC encoding parameters for a longFECBLOCK and a short FECBLOCK, respectively.

TABLE 28 BCH error LDPC correction Rate N_(ldpc) K_(ldpc) K_(bch)capability N_(ldpc)-K_(bch)  5/15 64800 21600 21408 12 192  6/15 2592025728  7/15 30240 30048  8/15 34560 34368  9/15 38880 38688 10/15 4320043008 11/15 47520 47328 12/15 51840 51648 13/15 56160 55968

TABLE 29 BCH error LDPC correction N_(bch)- Rate N_(idpc) K_(idpc)K_(bch) capability K_(bch) 5/15 16200 5400 5232 12 168 6/15 6480 63127/15 7560 7392 8/15 8640 8472 9/15 9720 9552 10/15  10800 10632 11/15 11880 11712 12/15  12960 12792 13/15  14040 13872

The details of operations of the BCH encoding and LDPC encoding are asfollows:

A 12-error correcting BCH code is used for outer encoding of the BBF.The BCH generator polynomial for short FECBLOCK and long FECBLOCK areobtained by multiplying together all polynomials.

LDPC code is used to encode the output of the outer BCH encoding. Togenerate a completed Bldpc (FECBLOCK), Pldpc (parity bits) is encodedsystematically from each Ildpc (BCH-encoded BBF), and appended to Ildpc.The completed Bldpc (FECBLOCK) are expressed as follow Math figure.

B _(ldpc)=[I _(ldpc) P _(ldpc)]=[i ₀ , i ₁ , . . . , i _(K) _(ldpc) −1,p ₀ , p ₁ , . . . , p _(N) _(ldpc) _(−K) _(ldpc) −1]  

Math Figure 3

The parameters for long FECBLOCK and short FECBLOCK are given in theabove table 28 and 29, respectively.

The detailed procedure to calculate Nldpc−Kldpc parity bits for longFECBLOCK, is as follows:

1) Initialize the parity bits,

p ₀ =p ₁ =p ₂ = . . . =p _(N) _(ldpc) _(−K) _(ldpc) −1=0   

Math Figure 4

2) Accumulate the first information bit −i₀, at parity bit addressesspecified in the first row of an addresses of parity check matrix. Thedetails of addresses of parity check matrix will be described later Forexample, for rate 13/15:

$\begin{matrix}{{p_{983} = {P_{983} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{2815} = {P_{2815} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{4837} = {P_{4837} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{4989} = {P_{4989} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{6138} = {P_{6138} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{6458} = {P_{6458} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{6921} = {P_{6921} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{6974} = {P_{6974} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{7572} = {P_{7572} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{8260} = {P_{8260} \oplus i_{0}}}{p_{8496} = {P_{8496} \oplus i_{0}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Math}\mspace{14mu}{Figure}\mspace{14mu} 5} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

3) For the next 359 information bits, i_(s), s−1, 2, . . . , 359accumulate is at parity bit addresses using following Math figure.

{x+(s md 360)×Q_(ldpc)}mod(N_(ldpc)−K_(ldpc))   

Math Figure 6

where x denotes the address of the parity bit accumulator correspondingto the first bit i₀, and Q_(ldpc) is a code rate dependent constantspecified in the addresses of parity check matrix. Continuing with theexample, Q_(ldpc)=24 for rate 13/15, so for information bit i₁, thefollowing operations are performed:

$\begin{matrix}{{p_{1007} = {P_{1007} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{2839} = {P_{2839} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{4861} = {P_{4861} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{5013} = {P_{5013} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{6162} = {P_{6162} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{6482} = {P_{6482} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{6945} = {P_{6945} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{6998} = {P_{6998} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{7596} = {P_{7596} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{8284} = {P_{8284} \oplus i_{1}}}{p_{8520} = {P_{8520} \oplus i_{1}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Math}\mspace{14mu}{Figure}\mspace{14mu} 7} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

4) For the 361st information bit i₃₆₀, the addresses of the parity bitaccumulators are given in the second row of the addresses of paritycheck matrix. In a similar manner the addresses of the parity bitaccumulators for the following 359 information bits i_(s), s=361, 362, .. . , 719 are obtained using the Math figure 6, where x denotes theaddress of the parity bit accumulator corresponding to the informationbit i₃₆₀, i.e., the entries in the second row of the addresses of paritycheck matrix.

5) In a similar manner, for every group of 360 new information bits, anew row from addresses of parity check matrixes used to find theaddresses of the parity bit accumulators. After all of the informationbits are exhausted, the final parity bits are obtained as follows:

6) Sequentially perform the following operations starting with i=1.

p _(i) =p _(i) ⊕ p _(i−1) , i=1, 2, . . . , N _(ldpc) −K _(ldpc)−1   

Math Figure 8

where final content of p_(i), i=0, 1, . . . N_(ldpc)−K_(ldpc)−1 is equalto the parity bit p_(i).

TABLE 30 Code Rate Q_(ldpc)  5/15 120  6/15 108  7/15 96  8/15 84  9/1572 10/15 60 11/15 48 12/15 36 13/15 24

This LDPC encoding procedure for a short FECBLOCK is in accordance witht LDPC encoding procedure for the long FECBLOCK, except replacing thetable 30 with table 31, and replacing the addresses of parity checkmatrix for the long FECBLOCK with the addresses of parity check matrixfor the short FECBLOCK.

TABLE 31 5/15 30 6/15 27 7/15 24 8/15 21 9/15 18 10/15 15 11/15 12 12/159 13/15 6

FIG. 23 illustrates a bit interleaving according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

The outputs of the LDPC encoder are bit-interleaved, which consists ofparity interleaving followed by Quasi-Cyclic Block (QCB) interleavingand inner-group interleaving.

(a) shows Quasi-Cyclic Block (QCB) interleaving and (b) showsinner-group interleaving.

The FECBLOCK may be parity interleaved. At the output of the parityinterleaving, the LDPC codeword consists of 180 adjacent QC blocks in along FECBLOCK and 45 adjacent QC blocks in a short FECBLOCK. Each QCblock in either a long or short FECBLOCK consists of 360 bits. Theparity interleaved LDPC codeword is interleaved by QCB interleaving. Theunit of QCB interleaving is a QC block. The QC blocks at the output ofparity interleaving are permutated by QCB interleaving as illustrated inFIG. 23, where Ncells=64800/η_(med) or 16200/η_(mod) according to theFECBLOCK length. The QCB interleaving pattern is unique to eachcombination of modulation type and LDPC code rate.

After QCB interleaving, inner-group interleaving is performed accordingto modulation type and order (η_(mod)) which is defined in the belowtable 32. The number of QC blocks for one inner-group, NQCB_IG, is alsodefined.

TABLE 32 Modulation type η_(mod) N_(QCB)_IG QAM-16 4 2 NUC-16 4 4 NUQ-646 3 NUC-64 6 6 NUQ-256 8 4 NUC-256 8 8 NUQ-1024 10 5 NUC-1024 10 10

The inner-group interleaving process is performed with NQCB_IG QC blocksof the QCB interleaving output. Inner-group interleaving has a processof writing and reading the bits of the inner-group using 360 columns andNQCB_IG rows. In the write operation, the bits from the QCB interleavingoutput are written row-wise. The read operation is performed column-wiseto read out m bits from each row, where m is equal to 1 for NUC and 2for NUQ.

FIG. 24 illustrates a cell-word demultiplexing according to anembodiment of the present invention.

(a) shows a cell-word demultiplexing for 8 and 12 bpcu M1MO and (b)shows a cell-word demultiplexing for 10 bpcu MIMO.

Each cell word (c0,1, c1,1, . . . , cnmod−1,1) of the bit interleavingoutput is demultiplexed into (d1,0,m, d1,1,m . . . , d1,nmod−1,m) and(d2,0,m, d2,1,m . . . , d2,nmod−1,m) as shown in (a), which describesthe cell-word demultiplexing process for one XFECBLOCK.

For the 10 bpcu MIMO case using different types of NUQ for MIMOencoding, the Bit interleaver for NUQ-1024 is re-used. Each cell word(c0,1, c1,1, . . . , c9,1) of the Bit Interleaver output isdemultiplexed into (d1,0,m, d1,1,m . . . , d1,3,m) and (d2,0,m, d2,1,m .. . d2,5,m), as shown in (b).

FIG 25 illustrates a time interleaving according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

(a) to (c) show examples of TI mode.

The time interleaver operates at the DP level. The parameters of timeinterleaving (TI) may be set differently for each DP.

The following parameters, which appear in part of the PLS2-STAT data,configure the TI:

DP_TI_TYPE (allowed values: 0 or 1): Represents the TI mode; ‘0’indicates the mode with multiple TI blocks (more than one TI block) perTI group. In this case, one TI group is directly mapped to one frame (nointer-frame interleaving). ‘1’ indicates the mode with only one TI blockper TI group. In this case, the TI block may be spread over more thanone frame (inter-frame interleaving).

DP_TI_LENGTH: If DP_TI_TYPE=‘0’, this parameter is the number of TIblocks NTI per TI group. For DP_TI_TYPE=‘1’, this parameter is thenumber of frames PI spread from one TI group.

DP_NUM_BLOCK_MAX (allowed values: 0 to 1023): Represents the maximumnumber of XFECBLOCKs per TI group.

DP_FRAME_INTERVAL (allowed values: 1, 2, 4, 8): Represents the number ofthe frames IJUMP between two successive frames carrying the same DP of agiven PHY profile.

DP_TI_BYPASS (allowed values: 0 or 1): If time interleaving is not usedfor a DP, this parameter is set to ‘1’. It is set to ‘0’ if timeinterleaving is used.

Additionally, the parameter DP_NUM_BLOCK from the PLS2-DYN data is usedto represent the number of XFECBLOCKs earned by one TI group of the DP.

When time interleaving is not used for a DP, the following TI group,time interleaving operation, and TI mode are not considered. However,the Delay Compensation block for the dynamic configuration informationfrom the scheduler will still be required In each DP, the XFECBLOCKsreceived from the SSD/MIMO encoding are grouped into TI groups. That is,each TI group is a set of an integer number of XFECBLOCKs and willcontain a dynamically variable number of XFECBLOCKs. The number ofXFECBLOCKs in the TI group of index n is denoted by NxBLOCK_Group(n) andis signaled as DP_NUM_BLOCK in the PLS2-DYN data. Note thatNxBLOCK_Group(n) may vary front the minimum value of 0 to the maximumvalue NxBLOCK_Group_MAX (corresponding to DP_NUM_BLOCK_MAX) of which thelargest value is 1023.

Each TI group is either mapped directly onto one frame or spread over PIframes. Each TI group is also divided into more than one TI blocks(NTI).where each TI block corresponds to one usage of time interleaver memory.The TI blocks within the TI group may contain slightly different numbersof XFECBLOCKs. If the TI group is divided into multiple TI blocks, it isdirectly mapped to only one frame. There are three options for timeinterleaving (except the extra option of skipping the time interleaving)as shown in the below table 33.

TABLE 33 Modes Descriptions Option-1 Each TI group contains one TI blockand is mapped directly to one frame as shown in (a). This option issignaled in the PLS2- STAT by DP_TI_TYPE = ‘0’ and DP_TI_LENGTH =‘1’(N_(TI) = 1). Option-2 Each TI group contains one TI block and ismapped to more than one frame, (b) shows an example, where one TI groupis mapped to two frames, i.e., DP_TI_LENGTH = ‘2’ (P_(I) = 2) andDP_FRAME_INTERVAL (I_(JUMP) = 2). This provides greater time diversityfor low data-rate services. This option is signaled in the PLS2-STAT byDP_TI_TYPE = ‘1’ Option-3 Each TI group is divided into multiple TIblocks and is mapped directly to one frame as shown in (c). Each TIblock may use full TI memory, so as to provide the maximum bit-rate fora DP. This option is signaled in the PLS2-STAT signaling by DP_TI_TYPE =‘0’ and DP_TI_LENGTH = N_(TI,) while P_(I) = 1.

In each DP, the TI memory stores the input XFECBLOCKs (output XFECBLOCKsfrom the SSD/MIMO encoding block). Assume that input XFECBLOCKs aredefined as

(d_(n,s,0,0), d_(n,s,0,1), . . . , d_(n,s,0,V) _(cells) ⁻¹, d_(n,s,1,0),. . . , d_(n,s,1,N) _(cells) ⁻¹, . . . , d_(n,s,N) _(xBLOCK,TI)_((n,s)−1,0), . . . , d_(n,s,N) _(xBLOCK,TI) _((n,s)−1,N) _(cells) ⁻¹),

where d_(n,s,r,q) is the qth cell of the rth XFECBLOCK in the sth TIblock of the nth TI group and represents the outputs of SSD and MIMOencodings as follows.

$d_{n,s,r,q} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{f_{n,s,r,q},} & {{the}\mspace{14mu}{output}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{SSD}\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{11mu}{encoding}} \\{g_{n,s,r,q},} & {{the}\mspace{14mu}{output}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{MIMO}\mspace{14mu}{encoding}}\end{matrix} \right.$

In addition, assume that output XFECBLOCKs from the time interleaver aredefined as

(h_(n,s,0), h_(n,s,1), . . . , h_(n,s,i), . . . , h_(n,s,N) _(xBLOCK,TI)_((n,s)×N) _(cells) ⁻¹),

where h_(n,s,i) is the ith output cell (for i=0, . . . ,N_(xBLOCK . . . TI)(n,s)×N_(cells)−1) in the sth TI block of the nth TIgroup.

Typically, the time interleaver will also act as a buffer for DP dataprior to the process of frame building. This is achieved by means of twomemory banks for each DP. The first TI-block is written to the firstbank. The second TI-block is written to the second bank while the firstbank is being read from and so on.

The TI is a twisted row-column block interleaver. For the sth TI blockof the nth TI group, the number of rows N_(r) of a TI memory is equal tothe number of cells N_(cells), i.e., N_(r)=N_(cells) while the number ofcolumns N_(c) is equal to the number N_(xBLOCK_TI)(n, s).

FIG. 26 illustrates the basic operation of a twisted row-column blockinterleaver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

shows a writing operation in the time interleaver and (b) shows areading operation in the time interleaver The first XFECBLOCK is writtencolumn-wise into the first column of the TI memory, and the secondXFECBLOCK is written into the next column, and so on as shown in (a).Then, in the interleaving array, cells are read out diagonal-wise.During diagonal-wise reading from the first row (rightwards along therow beginning with the left-most column) to the last row, N_(r) cellsare read out as shown in (b). In detail, assuming z_(n,s,i)(i=0, . . . ,N_(r)N_(c)) as the TI memory cell position to be read sequentially, thereading process in such an interleaving array is performed bycalculating the row index R_(n,s,i), the column index C_(n,s,i), and theassociated twisting parameter T_(n,s,i) as follows expression.

$\begin{matrix}{{{GENERATE}\mspace{11mu}\left( {R_{n,s,i},C_{n,s,i}} \right)} = \left\{ {{R_{n,s,i} = {{mod}\left( {i,N_{r}} \right)}},{T_{n,s,i} = {{mod}\left( {{S_{shift} \times R_{n,s,i}},N_{c}} \right)}},{C_{n,s,i} = {{mod}\;\left( {{T_{n,s,i} + \left\lfloor \frac{i}{N_{r}} \right\rfloor},N_{c}} \right)}}} \right\}} & \left\lbrack {{Math}\mspace{14mu}{Figure}\mspace{14mu} 9} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

where S_(shift) is a common shift value for the diagonal-wise readingprocess regardless of N_(xBLOCK_TI)(n,s), and it is determined byN_(xBLOCK_TI_MAX) given in the PLS2-STAT as follows expression.

$\begin{matrix}{{for}\mspace{11mu}\left\{ {\begin{matrix}{{N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}}^{\prime} = {N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}} + 1}},} & {\begin{matrix}{{if}\mspace{11mu} N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}}} \\{{{mod}\; 2} = 0}\end{matrix}\;} \\{{N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}}^{\prime} = N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}}},} & \begin{matrix}{{if}\mspace{11mu} N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}}} \\{{{mod}\; 2} = 1}\end{matrix}\end{matrix},\mspace{20mu}{S_{shift} = \frac{N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}}^{\prime} - 1}{2}}} \right.} & \left\lbrack {{Math}\mspace{14mu}{Figure}\mspace{14mu} 10} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

As a result, the cell positions to be read are calculated by acoordinate as z_(n,s,i)=N_(i)C_(n,s,i)+R_(n,s,i).

FIG. 27 illustrates an operation of a twisted row-column blockinterleaver according to another embodiment of the present invention.

More specifically, FIG. 27 illustrates the interleaving array in the TImemory for each TI group, including virtual XFECBLOCKs whenN_(xBLOCK_TI)(0,0)=3, N_(xBLOCK_TI)(1,0)=6, N_(xBLOCK_TI)(2,0)=5.

The variable number N_(xBLOCK_TI)(n,s)=N_(r) will be less than or equalto N_(xBLOCK_TI_MAX). Thus, in order to achieve a single-memorydeinterleaving at the receiver side, regardless of N′_(xBLOCK_TI)(n,s),the interleaving array for use in a twisted row-column block interleaveris set to the size of N_(r)×N_(c)=N_(cells)×N′_(xBLOCK_TI_MAX) byinserting the virtual XFECBLOCKs into the TI memory and the readingprocess is accomplished as follow expression.

$\begin{matrix}{{{{p = 0};}{{{for}\mspace{14mu} i} = 0};{i < {N_{cells}N_{{xBLOCK\_ TI}{\_ MAX}}^{\prime}}};{i = {i + 1}}}\left\{ {{{GENERATE}\mspace{11mu}\left( {R_{n,x,i},C_{n,x,i}} \right)};{V_{i} = {{{N_{r}C_{n,s,j}} + {R_{n,s,j}\mspace{20mu}{if}\mspace{14mu} V_{i}}} < {N_{cells}{N_{xBLOCK\_ TI}\left( {n,s} \right)}\mspace{20mu}\left\{ \mspace{31mu}{{Z_{n,s,p} = V_{i}};{p = {p + 1}};}\mspace{31mu} \right\}}}}} \right\}} & \left\lbrack {{Math}\mspace{14mu}{Figure}\mspace{14mu} 11} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The number of TI groups is set to 3. The option of time interleaver issignaled in the PLS2-STAT data by DP_TI_TYPE=‘0’, DP_FRAME_INTERVAL=‘1’,and DP_TI_LENGTH=‘1’, i.e., N_(TI)=1, I_(JUMP)=1, and P_(I)=1. Thenumber of XFECBLOCKs, each of which has Ncells=30 cells, per TI group issignaled in the PLS2-DYN data by NxBLOCK_TI(0,0)=3, NxBLOCK_TI(1,0)=6,and NxBLOCK_TI(2,0)=5, respectively. The maximum number of XFECBLOCK issignaled in the PLS2-STAT data by NxBLOCK_Group_MAX, which leads to└N_(xBLOCK_Group_MAX)/N_(TI)┘=N_(xBLOCK_TI_MAX)=6.

FIG. 28 illustrates a diagonal-wise reading pattern of a twistedrow-column block interleaver according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

More specifically FIG. 28 shows a diagonal-wise reading pattern fromeach interleaving array with parameters of N′_(xBLOCK_TI_MAX)=7 andSshift=(7−1)/2=3. Note that in the reading process shown as pseudocodeabove, if V_(i)≥N_(cells)N_(xBLOCK_TI)(n, s), the value of Vi is skippedand the next calculated value of Vi is used.

FIG. 29 illustrates interleaved XFECBLOCKs from each interleaving arrayaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 illustrates the interleaved XFECBLOCKs from each interleavingarray with parameters of N′_(xBLOCK_TI_MAX)=7 and Sshift=3.

FIG. 30 is a view showing a protocol stack for a next generationbroadcasting system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The broadcasting system according to the present invention maycorrespond to a hybrid broadcasting system in which an Internet Protocol(IP) centric broadcast network and a broadband are coupled.

The broadcasting system according to the present invention may bedesigned to maintain compatibility with a conventional MPEG-2 basedbroadcasting system.

The broadcasting system according to the present invention maycorrespond to a hybrid broadcasting system based on coupling of an IPcentric broadcast network, a broadband network, and/or a mobilecommunication network (or a cellular network).

Referring to the figure, a physical layer may use a physical protocoladopted in a broadcasting system, such as an ATSC system and/or a DVBsystem. For example, in the physical layer according to the presentinvention, a transmitter/receiver may transmit/receive a terrestrialbroadcast signal and convert a transport frame including broadcast datainto an appropriate form.

In an encapsulation layer, an IP datagram is acquired from informationacquired from the physical layer or the acquired IP datagram isconverted into a specific frame (for example, an RS Frame, GSE-lite,GSE, or a signal frame). The frame main include a set of IP datagrams.For example, in the encapsulation layer, the transmitter include dataprocessed from the physical layer in a transport frame or the receiverextracts an MPEG-2 TS and an IP datagram from the transport frameacquired from the physical layer.

A fast information channel (FIC) includes information (for example,mapping information between a service ID and a frame) necessary toaccess a service and/or content. The FIC may be named a fast accesschannel (FAC).

The broadcasting system according to the present invention may useprotocols, such as an Internet Protocol (IP), a User Datagram Protocol(UDP), a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), an Asynchronous LayeredCoding/Layered Coding Transport (ALC/LCT), a Rate Control Protocol/RTPControl Protocol (RCP/RTCP), a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and aFile Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (FLUTE). A stack betweenthese protocols may refer to the structure shown in the figure.

In the broadcasting system according to the present invention, data maybe transported in the form of an ISO based media file format (ISOBMFF).An Electrical Service Guide (ESG), Non Real Time (NRT), Audio/Video(A/V), and/or general data may be transported in the form of theISOBMFF.

Transport of data through a broadcast network may include transport of alinear content and/or transport of a non-linear content.

Transport of RTP/RTCP based A/V and data (closed caption, emergencyalert message, etc.) may correspond to transport of a linear content.

An RTP payload may be transported in the form of an RTP/AV streamincluding a Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) and/or in a formencapsulated in an ISO based media file format. Transport of the RTPpayload may correspond to transport of a linear content. Transport inthe form encapsulated in the ISO based media file format may include anMPEG DASH media segment for A/V, etc.

Transport of a FLUTE based ESG, transport of non-timed data, transportof an NRT content may correspond to transport of a non-linear content.These may be transported in an MIME type file form and/or a formencapsulated in an ISO based media file format. Transport in the formencapsulated in the ISO based media file format may include an MPEG DASHmedia segment for A/V, etc.

Transport through a broadband network may be divided into transport of acontent and transport of signaling data.

Transport of the content includes transport of a linear content (A/V anddata (closed caption, emergency alert message, etc.)), transport of anon-linear content (ESG, non-timed data, etc.). and transport of a MPEGDASH based Media segment (A/V and data).

Transport of the signaling data may be transport including a signalingtable (including an MPD of MPEG DASH) transported through a broadcastingnetwork.

In the broadcasting system according to the present invention,synchronization between linear/non-linear contents transported throughthe broadcasting network or synchronization between a contenttransported through the broadcasting network and a content transportedthrough the broadband may be supported. For example, in a case in whichone UD content is separately and simultaneously transported through thebroadcasting network and the broadband, the receiver may adjust thetimeline dependent upon a transport protocol and synchronize the contentthrough the broadcasting network and the content through the broadbandto reconfigure the contents as one UD content.

An applications layer of the broadcasting system according to thepresent invention may realize technical characteristics, such asInteractivity, Personalization, Second Screen, and automatic contentrecognition (ACR). These characteristics are important in extension fromATSC 2.0 to ATSC 3.0. For example, HTML5 may be used for acharacteristic of interactivity.

In a presentation layer of the broadcasting system according to thepresent invention, HTML and/or HTML5 may be used to identity spatial andtemporal relationships between components or interactive applications.

In the present invention, signaling includes signaling informationnecessary to support effective acquisition of a content and/or aservice. Signaling data may be expressed in a binary or XMK form. Thesignaling data may be transmitted through the terrestrial broadcastingnetwork or the broadband.

A real-time broadcast A/V content and/or data may be expressed in an ISOBase Media File Format, etc. In this case, the A/V content and/or datamay be transmitted through the terrestrial broadcasting network in realtime and may be transmitted based on IP/UDP/FLUTE in non-real time.Alternatively, the broadcast A/V content and/or data may be received byreceiving or requesting a content in a streaming mode using DynamicAdaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) through the Internet in real time.In the broadcasting system according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the received broadcast A/V content and/or data may becombined to provide various enhanced services, such as an Interactiveservice and a second screen service, to a viewer.

FIG. 31 is a view illustrating a broadcast transmission frame accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

According to the embodiment, the broadcast transmission frame includes aP1 part, an L1 part, a common PLP part, an interleaved PLP part (e.g., ascheduled & interleaved PLP's part), and/or an auxiliary data part.

According to the embodiment, the broadcast transmission device transmitsinformation on transport signal detection through the P1 part of thetransmission frame. Additionally, the broadcast transmission device maytransmit turning information on broadcast signal tuning through the P1part.

According to the embodiment, the broadcast transmission device transmitsa configuration of the broadcast transmission frame and characteristicsof each PLP through the L1 part. At this point, the broadcast receptiondevice 100 decodes the L1 part on the basis of the P1 part to obtain theconfiguration of the broadcast transmission frame and thecharacteristics of each PLP.

According to the embodiment, the broadcast transmission device maytransmit information commonly applied to PLPs through the common PLPpart. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, thebroadcast transmission frame may not include the common PLP part.

According to the embodiment, the broadcast transmission device transmitsa plurality of components included in broadcast service through aninterleaved PLP part. At this point, the interleaved PLP part includes aplurality of PLPs.

Moreover, according to the embodiment, the broadcast transmission devicemay signal to which PLP components configuring each broadcast serviceare transmitted through an L1 part or a common PLP part. However, thebroadcast reception device 100 decodes all of a plurality of PLPs of aninterleaved PLP part in order to obtain specific broadcast serviceinformation on broadcast service scan.

Unlike the embodiment, the broadcast transmission device may transmit abroadcast transmission frame including a broadcast service transmittedthrough a broadcast transmission frame and an additional part thatincludes information on a component included in the broadcast service.At this point, the broadcast reception device 100 may instantly obtaininformation on the broadcast service and the components therein throughthe additional part.

FIG. 32 is a view of a broadcast transmission frame according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

According to the embodiment, the broadcast transmission frame includes aP1 part, an L1 part, a fast information channel (FIC) part, aninterleaved PLP part (e.g., a scheduled & interleaved PLP's part),and/or an auxiliary data part.

Except the FIC part, other parts are identical to those of the previousfigure.

The broadcast transmission device transmits fast information through theFIC part. The fast information may include configuration information ofa broadcast stream transmitted through a transmission frame, simplebroadcast service information, and service signaling relating to acorresponding service/component. The broadcast reception device 100 mayscan broadcast service on the basis of the FIC part. In more detail, thebroadcast reception device 100 may extract information on broadcastservice from the FIC part.

FIG. 33 is a view illustrating a structure of a transport packettransmitting a broadcast service according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

In the embodiment, a transport packet transmitting a broadcast serviceincludes a Network Protocol field, an Error Indicator field, a StuffingIndicator field, a Pointer field, a Stuffing bytes field, and/or payloaddata.

The Network Protocol field represents the type of a network protocol.

The Error indicator field represents that an error is detected from acorresponding transport packet. In more detail, if a value of the ErrorIndicator field is 0, it represents that no error is detected from acorresponding packet and if a value of the Error Indicator field is 1,it represents that an error is detected from a corresponding packetAccording to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the ErrorIndicator field may be a 1-bit field.

The Stuffing Indicator field represents whether stuffing bytes areincluded in a corresponding transport packet. At this point, thestuffing bytes represent data included in a payload to maintain thelength of a fixed packet. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, when a value of the Stuffing Indicator field is 1, atransport packet includes a stuffing byte and when a value of theStuffing Indicator field is 0, a transport packet includes no stuffingbyte According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, theStuffing Indicator field may be a 1-bit field.

The Pointer field represents a start point of a new network packet in apayload part of a corresponding transport packet. According to aspecific embodiment of the present invention, when a value of thePointer field is 0x7FF, it may represent that there is no start point ofa new network packet. Additionally, According to a specific embodimentof the present invention, when a value of the Pointer field is not0x7FF, it may represent an offset value from the last part of atransport packet header to the start point of a new network packet.According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the Pointerfield may be an 11-bit field.

The Stuffing Bytes field represents a stuffing byte filling between theheader and the payload data to maintain a fixed packet length.

A configuration of a broadcast reception device for receiving broadcastservice will be described with reference to 34.

FIG. 34 is a view illustrating meanings of Network Protocol fieldaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The Network Protocol field represents the type of a network protocol.According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, a value ofthe Network Protocol field may represent the IPv4 protocol or a framepacket type. In more detail, when a value of the Network Protocol fieldis 000, it may represent the IPv4 protocol. In more detail, as shown inthe embodiment of FIG. 34, when a value of the Network Protocol field is111, it may represent a frame_packet_type protocol. At this point,framed_packet_type may be a protocol defined by ATSC A/153. In moredetail, framed_packet_type may represent a network packet protocol notincluding a field representing information on the length. According to aspecific embodiment of the present invention, the Network Protocol maybe a 3-bit field.

FIG. 35 is a view illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receptiondevice according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The broadcast reception device 100 includes a broadcast reception unit110, an internet protocol (IP) communication unit 130, and/or a controlunit 150.

The broadcast reception unit 110 includes a channel synchronizer 111, achannel equalizer 113, and/or a channel decoder 115.

The channel synchronizer 111 synchronizes a symbol frequency with atiming in order for decoding in a baseband where a broadcast signal isreceived.

The channel equalizer 113 corrects the distortion of a synchronizedbroadcast signal. In more detail, the channel equalizer 113 corrects thedistortion of a synchronized signal due to multipath and Dopplereffects.

The channel decoder 115 decodes a distortion corrected broadcast signal.In more detail, the channel decoder 115 extracts a transmission framefrom the distortion corrected broadcast signal. At this point, thechannel decoder 115 may perform forward error correction (FEC).

The IP communication unit 130 receives and transmits data throughinternet network.

The control unit 150 includes a signaling decoder 151, a transportpacket interface 153, a broadband packet interface 355, a basebandoperation control unit 157, a common protocol stack 159. a service mapdatabase 161, a service signaling channel processing buffer and parser163, an A/V processor 165, a broadcast service guide processor 167, anapplication processor 169, and/or a service guide database 171.

The signaling decoder 151 decodes signaling information of a broadcastsignal.

The transport packet interface 153 extracts a transport packet from abroadcast signal. At this point, the transport packet interface 153 mayextract data such as signaling information or IP datagram from theextracted transport packet.

The broadcast packet interface 155 extracts an IP packet from datareceived from internet network. At this point, the broadcast packetinterface 155 may extract signaling data or IP datagram from the IPpacket.

The baseband operation control unit 157 controls an operation relatingto receiving broadcast information from a baseband.

The common protocol stack 159 extracts audio or video from a transportpacket.

The A/V processor 547 processes audio or video.

The service signaling channel processing buffer and parser 163 parsesand buffers signaling information that signals broadcast service. Inmore detail, the service signaling channel processing buffer and parser163 parses and buffers signaling information that signals broadcastservice from the IP datagram.

The service map database 165 stores a broadcast service list includinginformation on broadcast services.

The service guide processor 167 processes terrestrial broadcast serviceguide data guiding programs of terrestrial broadcast service.

The application processor 169 extracts and processes application relatedinformation from a broadcast signal.

The serviced guide database 171 stores program information of abroadcast service.

FIG. 36 is a view illustrating a configuration of a broadcast receptiondevice according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In an embodiment, tire broadcast reception device 100 includes abroadcast reception unit 110, an internet protocol (IP) communicationunit 130, and/or a control unit 150.

The broadcast reception unit 110 may include one or more processors, oneor more circuits, and/or one or more hardware modules, which performeach of a plurality of functions that the broadcast reception unit 110performs. In more detail, the broadcast reception unit 110 may be aSystem On Chip (SOC) in which several semiconductor parts are integratedinto one. At this point, the SOC may be semiconductor in which variousmultimedia components such as graphics, audio, video, and modem and asemiconductor such as a processor and D-RAM are integrated into one. Thebroadcast reception unit 110 mas include a physical layer module 119 anda physical layer IP frame module 117. The physical layer module 119receives and processes a broadcast related signal through a broadcastchannel of a broadcast network. The physical layer IP frame module 117converts a data packet such as an IP datagram obtained from the physicallayer module 119 into a specific frame. For example, the physical layermodule 119 may convert an IP datagram into an RS Frame or GSE.

The IP communication unit 130 may include one or more processors, one ormore circuits, and/or one or more hardware modules, which perform eachof a plurality of functions that the IP communication unit 130 performs.In more detail, the IP communication unit 130 may be a System On Chip(SOC) in which several semiconductor parts are integrated into one. Atthis point, the SOC may be semiconductor in which various multimediacomponents such as graphics, audio, video, and modem and a semiconductorsuch as a processor and D-RAM are integrated into one. The IPcommunication unit 130 may include an internet access control module131. The internet access control module 131 may control an operation ofthe broadcast reception device 100 to obtain at least one of service,content, and signaling data through an internet communication network(for example, broad band).

The control unit 150 may include one or more processors, one or morecircuits, and/or one or more hardware modules, which perform each of aplurality of functions that the control unit 150 performs. In moredetail, the control unit 150 may be a System On Chip (SOC) in whichseveral semiconductor parts are integrated into one. At this point, theSOC may be semiconductor in which various multimedia components such asgraphics, audio, video, and modem and a semiconductor such as aprocessor and D-RAM are integrated into one. The control unit 150 mayinclude at least one of a signaling decoder 151, a service map database161, a service signaling channel parser 163, an application signalingparser 166, an alert signaling parser 168, a targeting signaling parser170, a targeting processor 173, an A/V processor 161, an alertingprocessor 162, an application processor 169, a scheduled streamingdecoder 181, a file decoder 182, a user request streaming decoder 183, afile database 184, a component synchronization unit 185, aservice/content acquisition control unit 187, a redistribution module189, a device manager 193, and/or a data sharing unit 191.

The service/content acquisition control unit 187 controls operations ofa receiver to obtain services or contents through a broadcast network oran internet communication network find signaling data relating toservices or contents.

The signaling decoder 151 decodes signaling information.

The service signaling parser 163 parses service signaling information.

The application signaling parser 166 extracts and parses service relatedsignaling information. At this point, the service related signalinginformation may be service scan related signaling information.Additionally, the service related signaling information may be signalinginformation relating to contents provided through a service.

The alert signaling parser 168 extracts and parses alerting relatedsignaling information.

The target signaling parser 170 extracts and parses information forpersonalizing services or contents or information for signalingtargeting information.

The targeting processor 173 processes information for personalizingservices or contents.

The alerting processor 162 processes alerting related signalinginformation.

The application processor 169 controls application related informationand the execution of an application. In more detail, the applicationprocessor 169 processes a slate of a downloaded application and adisplay parameter.

The A/V processor 161 processes an A/V rendering related operation onthe basis of decoded audio or video and application data.

The scheduled streaming decoder 181 decodes a scheduled streaming thatis a content streamed according to a schedule defined by a contentsprovider such as broadcaster.

The file decoder 182 decodes a downloaded file. Especially, the filedecoder 182 decodes a file downloaded through an internet communicationnetwork.

The user request streaming decoder 183 decodes a content (for example,On Demand Content) provided by a user request.

The file database 184 stores files. In more detail, the file database184 may store a file downloaded through an internet communicationnetwork.

The component synchronization unit 185 synchronizes contents orservices. In more detail, the component synchronization unit 185synchronizes a presentation time of a content obtained through at leastone of the scheduled streaming decoder 181, the file decoder 182, andthe user request streaming decoder 183. The component synchronizationunit 185 may acquire additional packets including information (will bedescribed below in this specification) for synchronizing broadcaststreams with any other heterogeneous streams transmitted byheterogeneous networks other than the broadcast network.

The service/content acquisition control unit 187 controls operations ofa receiver to obtain services, contents or signaling informationrelating to services or contents.

When services or contents are not received through a broadcast network,the redistribution module 189 performs operations to support obtainingat least one of services, contents, service related information, andcontent related information. In more detail, the redistribution module189 may request at least one of services, contents, service relatedinformation, and content related information from the externalmanagement device 300. At this point, the external management device 300may be a content server.

The device manager 193 manages an interoperable external device. In moredetail, the device manager 193 may perform at least one of the addition,deletion, and update of an external device. Additionally, an externaldevice may perform connection and data exchange with the broadcastreception device 100.

The data sharing unit 191 performs a data transmission operation betweenthe broadcast reception device 100 and an external device and processesexchange related information. In more detail, the data sharing unit 191may transmit AV data or signaling information to an external device.Additionally, the data sharing unit 191 may receive AV data or signalinginformation from an external device.

FIG. 37 is a view illustrating an architecture for acquiring a serviceand/or content in a next-generation broadcast system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

A method provided by the present invention enables a receiver toeffectively acquire a service or content through a broadcast network orthe Internet in the next-generation broadcast system.

The figure shows an example of acquiring a service or content in ahybrid broadcast system.

For example, service 0 is composed of one piece of video data and onepiece of audio data and the video/audio can be acquired through IPstreams transmitted through a terrestrial broadcast network.

In the case of service 1, since an IP stream earning video data and anIP stream carrying audio data are transmitted through one PLP, thereceiver can acquire service 1 by decoding the PLP.

In the case of service N, audio data can be acquired through theInternet while video data is transmitted through the terrestrialbroadcast network.

In the process of acquiring components included in service 0, service 1or service N as described above, the aforementioned embodiments of thepresent invention can be used. That is, the receiver can identify PLPsthrough which the components included in service 0, service 1 or serviceN are transmitted and acquire a desired service by decodingcorresponding PLPs.

FIG. 38 is a view illustrating a broadcast service signaling tableaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The broadcast service signaling table may include at least one ofbroadcast service identification information, information representingthe current state of a broadcast service, the name of a broadcastservice, information representing whether a protection algorithm forbroadcast service is applied, category information of a broadcastservice, and media component signaling information signaling a mediacomponent that a broadcast service includes. The media componentsignaling information signaling a media component that the broadcastservice includes may include information representing whether each mediacomponent is essential to a corresponding broadcast service.Additionally. the media component signaling information signaling amedia component that the broadcast service includes may includeinformation relating to each component.

In more detail, as shown in the embodiment, the broadcast servicesignaling table may include at least one of a table_id field,section_syntax_indicator field, a private_indicator field, asection_length field, a table_id_extension field, a version_numberfield, a current_next_indicator field, a section_number field, alast_section_number field, a num_services field, a service_id field, aservice_status field, an SP_indicator field, a short_service_name_lengthfield, a short_service_name field, a channel_number field, aservice_category field, a num_components field, anessential_component_indicator field, a num_component_level_descriptorfield, a component_level_descriptor field, anum_service_level_descriptors field, and/or a service_level_descriptorfield.

The table_id field represents an identifier of a broadcast servicesignaling information table. At this point, a value of the table_idfield may be one of reserved id values defined in ATSC A/65. Accordingto a specific embodiment of the present invention, the table_id fieldmay be an 8-bit field.

The section_syntax_indicator field represents whether the broadcastservice signaling information table is a private section table in a longformat of MEPG-2 TS standard. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, the section_syntax_indicator field may be a 1-bitfield.

The private_indicator field represents whether a current tablecorresponds to a private section. According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the private_indicator field may be a 1-bit field.

The section_length field represents the length of a section alter thesection_length field. According to a specific embodiment of the presentinvention, the section_length field may be a 12-bit field.

The table_id_extension field represents a value for identifying abroadcast service signaling information table in combination with thetable_id field. Especially, the table_id field may include anSMT_protocol_version field representing a protocol version of a servicesignaling information table. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, the SMT_protocol_version field may be an 8-bit field.

The version_number field represents a version of a service signalingtable. The broadcast reception device 100 may determine the availabilityof a service signaling information table on the basis of a value of theversion number field. In more detail, when a value of the version_numberfield is identical to a version of a previously received servicesignaling table, the information of the service signaling table may notbe used. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention,the version_number field may be a 5-bit field.

The current_next_indicator field represents whether information of abroadcast service signaling table is currently available. In moredetail, when a value of the current_next_indicator field is 1, it mayrepresent that the information of the broadcast service signaling tableis available. Moreover, when a value of the current_next_indicator fieldis 1, it may represent that the information of the broadcast servicesignaling table is available next time. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, the current_next_indicator fieldmay be a 1-bit field.

The section_number field represents a current section number. Accordingto a specific embodiment of the present invention, the section_numberfield may be an 8-bit field.

The last_section_number field represents the last section number. Whenthe size of a broadcast service signaling table is large, it may bedivided into a plurality of sections and then transmitted. At thispoint, the broadcast reception device 100 determines whether allsections necessary for a broadcast service signaling table are receivedon the basis of the section_number field and the last_section numberfield. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, thelast_section_number field may be an 8-bit field.

The service_id field represents a service identifier for identifying abroadcast service. According to a specific embodiment of the presentinvention, the service_id field may be a 16-bit field.

The service_status field represents the current stale of a broadcastservice. In more detail, it may represent whether the broadcast serviceis available currently. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, when a value of the service status field is 1, it mayrepresent that the broadcast service is available currently. Accordingto a specific embodiment of the present invention, the broadcastreception device 100 may determine whether to display a correspondingbroadcast service in a broadcast service list and a broadcast serviceguide on the basis of a value of the service_status field. For example,when a corresponding broadcast service is unavailable, the broadcastreception device 100 may not display the corresponding broadcast servicein a broadcast service list and a broadcast service guide. According toanother specific embodiment of the present invention, the broadcastreception device 100 may limit an access to a corresponding broadcastservice on the basis of a value of the service_status field. Forexample, when a corresponding broadcast service is unavailable, thebroadcast reception device 100 may limit an access to a correspondingbroadcast service through a channel up/down key. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, the service_status field may be a2-bit field.

The SP_indicator field may represent whether service protection isapplied to at least one component in a corresponding broadcast service.For example, when a value of SP_indicator is 1, it may represent thatservice protection is applied to at least one component in acorresponding broadcast service. According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the SP_indicator field may be a 1-bit field.

The short_service_name_length field represents the size of theshort_service_name field.

The short_service_name field represents the name of a broadcast service.In more detail, the short_service_name field may be displayed bysummarizing the name of a broadcast service.

The channel_number field displays a virtual channel number of acorresponding broadcast service.

The service_category field represents a category of a broadcast service.

The num_component field represents the number of media components that acorresponding broadcast service includes. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, the num_component field may be a5-bit field.

The essential_component_indicator field represents whether acorresponding media component is an essential media component essentialto a corresponding broadcast service presentation. According to aspecific embodiment of the present invention, theessential_component_indicator field may be a 1-bit field.

The num_component_level_descriptor field represents the number ofcomponent_level_descriptor fields. According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the num_component_level_descriptor field may be a4-bit field.

The component_level_descriptor field includes an additional properly fora corresponding component.

The num_service_level_descriptors field represents the number ofservice_level_descriptor fields. According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the num_service_level_descriptors field may be a4-bit field.

The service_level_descriptor field includes an additional property for acorresponding service.

The service signaling table may further include information on ensemble.When the same Forward Error Correction (FEC) is applied to at least oneservice and transmitted, the ensemble represents a collection of the atleast one service.

FIG. 39 is a view of meanings of the service_category field according toanother embodiment of the present invention

The service_category field may represent at least one of TV service,radio service, broadcast service guide, RI service, and emergencyalerting. For example, as shown in the embodiment, in the case that avalue of the service_category field is 0x01, it represents TV service.In the case that a value of the service category field is 0x02, itrepresents radio service. In the case that a value of theservice_category field is 0x03, it represents RI service. In the casethat a value of the service_category field is 0x08, it representsservice guide. In the case that a value of the service_category field is0x09, it represents emergency alerting. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, the service_category field may be a6-bit field.

FIG. 40 is a view of a broadcast service signaling table according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

In more detail, as shown in the embodiment, the broadcast servicesignaling table may further include a num_ensemble_level_descriptorsfield and/or an ensemble_level_descriptor field.

The num_ensemble_level_descriptors field represents the number ofensemble_level_descriptor fields. According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the num_ensemble_level_descriptors field may be a4-bit field.

The ensemble_level_descriptor field includes an additional property fora corresponding ensemble.

Additionally, the service signaling able may further include streamidentifier information for identifying a media component.

FIG. 41 is a view of a stream identifier descriptor according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

The stream identifier information includes at least one of adescriptor_tag field, a descriptor_length field, and a component_tagfield.

The descriptor_tag field represents a descriptor including streamidentifier information According to a specific embodiment of the presentinvention, the descriptor_tag field may be an 8-bit field.

The descriptor_length field represents die length of stream identifierinformation after a corresponding field. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, the descriptor length field may bean 8-bit field.

The component_tag field represents a media component identifier foridentifying a media component. At this point, the media componentidentifier may have a different unique value than a media componentidentifier of another media component on a corresponding signalinginformation table. According to a specific embodiment of the presentinvention, the component_tag field may be an 8-bit field.

An operation for transmitting/receiving a broadcast service signalingtable will be described below.

The above broadcast service table is described as in a bitstream formatbut according to a specific embodiment of the present invention, abroadcast service table may be in an XML formal.

FIG. 42 is a view illustrating an operation when a broadcasttransmission device transmits a broadcast service signaling tableaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The broadcast transmission device may include a transmission unit fortransmitting a broadcast signals and a control unit for controllingoperations of the broadcast transmission unit. A transmission unit mayinclude one or more processors, one or more circuits, find one or morehardware modules, which perform each of a plurality of functions thatthe transmission unit performs. In more detail, the transmission unitmay be a System On Chip (SOC) in which several semiconductor parts areintegrated into one. At this point, the SOC may be semiconductor inwhich various multimedia components such as graphics, audio, video, andmodem and a semiconductor such as a processor and D-RAM are integratedinto one. The control unit may include one or more processors, one ormore circuits, and one or more hardware modules, which perform each of aplurality of functions that the control unit performs. In more detail,the control unit may be a System On Chip (SOC) in which severalsemiconductor parts are integrated into one. At tins point, the SOC maybe semiconductor in which various multimedia components such asgraphics, audio, video, and modem and a semiconductor such as aprocessor and D-RAM are integrated into one.

The broadcast transmission device obtains data to be contained in atransport packet and transmitted through the control unit in operationS101. The data that the broadcast transmission device transmits may bereal-time content or metadata relating to real-time content. In moredetail, real-time content may be a broadcast A/V content transmittedthrough a terrestrial broadcast network or enhancement data relating tobroadcast AV content.

The broadcast transmission device determines whether data obtainedthrough the control unit exceeds the size that a transport packet fordata transmission contains in operation S103. In more detail, atransport packet that the broadcast transmission device is to use may bebased on a protocol using a fixed packet length. At this point, whendata to be transmitted exceeds the size that a packet covers, it isdifficult to transmit data smoothly. Additionally, when data to betransmitted is very smaller than a packet, it is inefficient to transmitonly a small size of one data in one packet. Accordingly, in order toovercome the inefficiency, the broadcast transmission device comparesthe sizes of a transport packet and data through the control unit.

If it is determined that a transport packet cannot contain the size ofdata that the broadcast transmission device is to transmit, thebroadcast transmission device segments data to be transmitted throughthe control unit in operation S105. The segmented data may be divided ina plurality of transport packets and then transmitted. Then, theplurality of transport packets may additionally include information foridentifying the segmented data. According to another embodiment, theinformation for identifying segmented data may be transmitted throughadditional datagram instead of a transport packet.

The broadcast transmission device sets a value for identifying thesegmented data in the packet payload through the control unit S107.

The broadcast transmission device packetizes data having a smaller sizethan segmented data or a transport packet through the control unit inoperation S109. In more detail, the broadcast transmission deviceprocesses data to be in a delivery from. The processed broadcast packetmay include a packet header and packet payload. Additionally, the packetpayload may include data and the header of a payload. Herein, besidesthe packet header, the payload header is a field for signaling payloaddata in the packet payload. Additionally, the packet payload includingsegmented data may include a segmented data header in addition to theheader of a payload. Herein, besides the payload header, the segmenteddata header is a field for signaling payload data in the packet payload.

According to an embodiment, the broadcast transmission device maypacketize one data in one packet. According to another embodiment, thebroadcast transmission device may packetize a plurality of data in onepacket. According to another embodiment, the broadcast transmissiondevice may segment and packetize one data in a plurality of packets.

As mentioned above, according to the size of data or the length of apacket, a packetized transport packet may vary. Therefore, it isnecessary for the broadcast transmission device to transmit differenttransport packets in distinguishable forms. According to an embodiment,the broadcast transmission device may packetize data by includinginformation representing the form of a packet in the payload header of atransport packet through the control unit. According to anotherembodiment, when it is difficult to distinguish data to be transmittedonly with information in the payload header, the control unit of thebroadcast transmission device may packetize data by additionallyincluding information for identifying the type of a transport packet.

The broadcast transmission device transmits the packetized broadcastpacket through the transmission unit in operation S1111. According to anembodiment, a broadcast packet may be transmitted through a terrestrialbroadcast network. According to another embodiment, a broadcast packetmay be transmitted through an internet network.

FIG. 43 is a view illustrating an operation when a broadcast receptiondevice receives a packetized broadcast packet according to an embodimentof the present invention.

The broadcast reception device 100 receives a packetized transportpacket through the broadcast reception unit 110 in operation S201.

The broadcast reception device 100 extracts a payload header from thereceived transport packet through the control unit 150 in operationS203. The control unit 150 may obtain payload data including data and apayload header signaling the payload data from the payload of thetransport packet. In more detail, the control unit 150 of the broadcastreception device 100 may extract additional information for providing atleast one of a broadcast content in the packet payload and anenhancement content relating to the broadcast content, from the receivedtransport packet.

According to an embodiment, the control unit 150 of the broadcastreception device 100 may extract at least one of payload errordetermination information, payload priority information, and payloadtype information from the payload header. In more detail, the payloaderror determination information represents whether there is an error inthe payload in a broadcast packet or whether a corresponding payloadincludes a content violating a predetermined syntax.

Additionally, the priority information represents a priority of data inthe payload Additionally, the priority information represents propertyinformation of data in the payload. For example, in the case of apayload including signaling information of file format media data, thepriority information of a corresponding packet is set to the highestpriority.

Additionally, the payload type information represents the type of apacket payload including payload data. For example, the payload typeinformation may represent whether the broadcast transmission devicepacketizes one data in one packet payload or divides and packetizes onedata in a plurality of packet payloads.

The broadcast reception device 100 determines whether data in thepayload is media data from information in the extracted payload leaderthrough the control unit 150 in operation S205. In more detail, thecontrol unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100 may determine thetype of a payload in a corresponding packet on the basis of the packetheader information. According to an embodiment, the type of a payloadmay be media data including broadcast content and an enhancement contentrelating to the broadcast content. According to another embodiment, thetype of a payload may be metadata including additional informationnecessary for providing media data.

When it is determined that data in the payload is media data, thecontrol unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100 determineswhether entire media data is included in one transport packet inoperation S207. According to a specific embodiment, according to thelength of a transport packet and the size of entire media data, thebroadcast transmission device may packetize the entire media data in onetram port packet. According to another embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may divide entire media data and packetize them indifferent transport packets. Accordingly, the control unit 150 of thebroadcast reception device 100 may determine the type of a broadcastpacket through the payload header so as to extract complete media datafor content output.

On the other hand, according to an embodiment of the present invention,when the control unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100determines that data in the payload is not media data, this will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 66.

When it is determined that entire media data is included in onetransport packet, the control unit 150 extracts media data from onepacket payload in operation S209. According to an embodiment, thecontrol unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100 may extract onlyone media data from one transport packet. According to anotherembodiment, the control unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100may extract a plurality of media data from one transport packet. On theother hand, when it is determined that entire media data is not includedin a transport packet, the control unit 150 extracts media data from aplurality of packet payloads on the basis of a payload header and asegment data header in operation S211. In more detail, the control unit150 may obtain information of divided and packetized media data frontthe payload header and the segment data header. Accordingly, the controlunit 150 may identify divided media data according to the obtainedinformation. That is, the control unit 150 may obtain the order ofdivided media data according to the obtained information. The controlunit 150 may concatenate media data obtained from different transportpackets on the basis of a corresponding order.

The broadcast reception device 100 provides content through the controlunit 150 in operation S213. According to an embodiment, the control unit150 may provide content on the basis of extracted media data. Accordingto another embodiment, the control unit 150 may provide content on thebasis of concatenated media data.

The control unit 150 may output A/V content. According to anotherembodiment, the broadcast reception device 100 may output enhancementdata relating to A/V content.

FIG. 44 is a view illustrating a segment configuration according to anembodiment of the present invention.

On a packet based data transfer protocol, each packet is configured witha packet header and a packet payload as shown in FIG. 40 in general. Thepacket header may include information of a packet payload in a packet.The packet payload may include media data to be transmitted via abroadcast network or an internet network. Media data that the packetpayload includes may be at least one of audio, video, enhancementservice, and additional information.

FIG. 45 is a view illustrating a structure of a real-time transportprotocol (RTP) packet for real-time content transmission according to anembodiment of the present invention.

An RTP packet may include an RTP Header and an RTP Payload. The RTPheader include at least one of a Timestamp, a Synchronization sourceidentifier, and/or a Contributing source identifier.

The RTP Header may include at least one of a V(version) field, aP(padding) field, an X(extension) field, a CC field, an M(Marker bit)field, a Payload Type field, a Sequence Number field, and/or a Timestampfield.

The V(version) field represents version information of a correspondingRTP. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, theV(version) field may be a 2-bit field.

The P(padding) field represents whether there are padding bits in apayload. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention,the P(padding) field may be a 1-bit field.

The X(extension) field represents whether there is an extension field inthe RTP Header. According to a specific embodiment of the presentinvention, the X(extension) field may be a 1-bit field.

The CC field represents the number of Contributing sources. According toa specific embodiment of the present invention, the CC field may be a4-bit field.

The M(Marker bit) field may represent a different meaning according tothe Payload type. For example, when a transport object is a file, theM(Marker bit) field may represent the end of the file. According toanother embodiment, when a transport object is video or audio data, theM(Marker bit) field may represent the first or last object of relatedaccess units. According to a specific embodiment of the presentinvention, the M(Marker bit) field may be a 1-bit field.

The Payload Type field represents the type of an RTP Payload. Accordingto a specific embodiment of the present invention, the Payload Typefield may be a 7-bit field.

The Sequence Number field represents the sequence number of an RTPpacket. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, theSequence Number field may be a 16-bit field.

The Timestamp field may represent time information relating to an RTPpacket. The Timestamp field may be interpreted differently according toa value of the Payload Type field. According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the Timestamp field may be a 32-bit field.

RTP payload may be included in an audio/video access unit according tothe payload type of RTP Header. For example, in the case of H.264, anetwork abstract layer (NAL) unit may be included.

FIG. 46 is a view illustrating a media file format based on an ISO basemedia file format (ISO BMFF) according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown in the figure, the media file format may include one ftyp andat least one moov, moof, and mdat in general.

ftyp represents the type and suitability of a media file. Ftyp islocated at the front in a media file if possible.

moov is a container for all media data. In more detail, moov is acontainer box for single track of presentation. Presentation may beconfigured with one or more tracks. Each track is separated from anothertrack in presentation. According to an embodiment, a track may containmedia data and according to another embodiment, a track may containinformation for packetized streaming protocol.

mdat is a container of media data and moof contains information on mdat.

FIG. 47 is a view illustrating a configuration of a payload header in apacket payload according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Currently, a real-time transport protocol is mostly transmitted based onan access unit of a media file. In more detail, an access unit refers toa minimum unit for transmitting a media file or data. Accordingly, thereis insufficient consideration on a method of transmitting media fileformat based data in real-time.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a broadcasttransmission device may transmit one file format based media datathrough a payload included in one transport packet. In this case, thetransport packet may be referred to as a single unit packet. Accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, a broadcast transmissiondevice may transmit a plurality of file format based media data througha payload included in one transport packet. In this case, the transportpacket may be referred to as an aggregation packet. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, a broadcast transmission device maydivide one file format based media data into several transport packetsand may then transmit them. In this case, the transport packet may bereferred to as a fragmented packet. According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, a broadcast transmission device may transmit oneor a plurality of metadata for media stream through the payload of onetransport packet. According to another embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may transmit one metadata through the payloads of aplurality of transport packets.

Additionally, a broadcast transmission device according to an embodimentof the present invention may transmit media data through variousprotocols. The protocol may include at least one of a real-timetransport protocol (RTP), an asynchronous layered coding(ALC), and alayered coding transport (LCT).

In more detail, a broadcast transmission device may insert a fieldrepresenting information on a payload type in the header of a transportpacket to represent that there is file format based media data in apayload through a corresponding field. For example, in the case of theRTP. the payload type field of a header may represent the data type of apayload and a specific value may be assigned to a corresponding field asa payload type value for file format based media data. Then, in thiscase, when data including the end of one media file is included in thepayload of a packet, the M field of an RTP packet header mas be set to1.

In order to overcome the above issues, a payload header according to anembodiment of the present invention may include at least one ofinformation representing whether there is an error or syntax error ondata in a payload, information representing the priority of data, andinformation representing the type of data. In this case, informationrepresenting whether there is an error or syntax error on data in thepayload of a payload header may be referred to as an F field. Accordingto an embodiment, the information representing whether there is an erroror syntax error on data in the payload of a payload header mas be set to1 as forbidden_zero_bit when there is an error or syntax violation ondata in a payload. In more detail, the information representing whetherthere is an error or syntax error on data in the pas load of a payloadheader may be one bit.

Additionally, information representing the priority of data in a payloadheader may be referred to as an information Priority field. According toan embodiment, the information representing the priority of data is afield representing the priority of pas load data. Then, the informationrepresenting the priority of data may represent whether payload dataincludes important metadata on a media file format.

For example, in ISO BMFF, in the case of pas load data including ftypand moov, information representing the priority of data mas be set tothe highest priority. According to an embodiment, informationrepresenting the priority of data may represent the highest priorityhighest (highest), a relatively lower priority than the highest priority(medium), and the lowest priority (low) through a control unit of abroadcast transmission device. In this case, information representingthe priority of data may be set to 0x00 in the case of the highestpriority, 0x01 in the case of a relatively lower priority than thehighest priority, and 0x02 in the case of the lowest priority. The abovesetting value is just one exemplars and may be wet to another arbitraryvalue.

Additionally, in this case, information representing the type of datamay be referred to as a type field. In more detail, through informationrepresenting the type of data, the control unit 150 of the broadcastreception device 100 may identify whether a transport packet is a packettransmitting one data by one packet, a packet transmitting a pluralityof different data by one packet, or a packet transmitting data obtainedby dividing one into a plurality of data.

Additionally, through information representing the type of data thecontrol unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100 may identifywhether a transport packet is a packet transmitting metadata includingtime information of content or a packet transmitting metadata includingdescription information of content.

According to an embodiment, in the case of a packet transmitting onedata by one packet, the broadcast reception device may set informationrepresenting the type of data to 0x00. Additionally, in the case of apacket transmitting a plurality of different data by one packet, thebroadcast reception device may set information representing the type ofdata to 0x01. Additionally, in the case of a packet dividing one dataand transmitting divided data, the broadcast reception device may setinformation representing the type of data to 0x02.

Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may packetize metadataincluding presentation or decoding time information of content insteadof media data and max then transmit the packetized metadata. In the casethe broadcast reception device may set information representing the typeof data to 0x03. Moreover, the time information may be referred to astimeline data.

Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may packetize andtransmit metadata including description information of content. In thecase the broadcast reception device may set information representing thetype of data to 0x04. Moreover, the above information may be referred toas labeling data.

However, the above setting values are just exemplary so that the presentinvention is not limited to the above values. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, the type field may be a 5-bitfield.

FIG. 48 is a view illustrating a payload configuration of a transportpacket in which one media data is packetized in one packet.

As shown, a packet in which one media data is included in one packet maybe referred to as a single unit packet. The payload of a single unitpacket may include a payload header and payload data The payload datamay include fragmented data including one file format based media data.According to an embodiment, when a transport protocol uses a transportpacket of a fixed length, payload data may include padding bits inaddition to fragmented data. Herein the padding bit refers to a bit forfilling the remaining space after filling data in a transport packet.

FIG. 49 is a view illustrating a payload configuration of a transportpacket in which one media data is packetized in one packet.

A detailed view of a transport packet shown in the above figure. Asshown, a payload header may include at least one of informationrepresenting whether there is an error or syntax error in data in apayload, information representing the priority of data, and/orinformation representing the type of data.

As shown, information representing whether there is an error or syntaxerror on data in a payload may include a value representing a contentthat there is no error and syntax violation. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, a corresponding value may be 0.

Since a media file in payload data includes important data such as ftyp,Information representing the priority of data may have the highestpriority. As mentioned above, in the case of ftyp, since ftyp includesinformation for signaling a media file, it may have the highestpriority. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, avalue representing the highest priority may be 0x00.

Since one media file is all included in one packet payload, Informationrepresenting the type of data may represent a single unit packet.According to a specific embodiment, information representing the type ofdata may have a value of 0x00. Additionally, a padding bit may beselectively inserted into payload data according to the length andtransport protocol of media file.

FIG. 50 is a view illustrating a configuration of a transport packet inwhich a plurality of media data are packetized in one packet.

The above packet may be referred to as an aggregation packet. As shown,when the payload of one transport packet includes a plurality ofdifferent file format based media data, payload data may include aplurality of aggregation units. Each aggregation unit may includeanother file format based media data. According to an embodiment, when atransport protocol uses a packet of a fixed length, payload data mayinclude padding bits in addition to fragmented data.

According to an embodiment, one aggregation unit may include at leastone of information representing the length of an aggregation unit andaggregation data. In this case, information representing the length ofan aggregation unit may be referred to as an aggregation unit lengthfield. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, theaggregation unit may be 16 bits. Additionally, aggregation unit datarepresent data in one file.

FIG. 51 is a view illustrating a configuration of an aggregation unitaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

One aggregation unit may further include information representing thetype of a file in an aggregation unit in addition to the embodimentdescribed above.

Information representing the type of aggregation may be referred to asan aggregation unit type field. According to a specific embodiment, thebroadcast transmission device may set the aggregation type to 0x00.

According to another embodiment, the aggregation type may represent thata corresponding aggregation unit includes a file in Self-initializingSegment format on MPEG-Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH).Herein, a self-initializing segment is obtained by integrating aninitializing segment and a media segment without an additionalinitializing segment. In more detail, the self-initializing segment mayinclude a media segment and its media form. According to a specificembodiment, in this case, the broadcast transmission device may set theaggregation type to 0x01.

According to another embodiment, the aggregation type may represent thata corresponding aggregation unit includes a file in InitializationSegment format on MPEG-DASH. Herein, the initializing segment is aformat following ISO BMFF. In more detail, the initializing segmentneeds to include ftyp and moov. But, it does not include moof. Accordingto a specific embodiment, in this case, the broadcast transmissiondevice may set the aggregation type to 0x02.

FIG. 52 is a view illustrating the payload of a fragmented packetaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

A payload configuration of a transport packet (hereinafter referred toas a fragmented packet) in which one media data is divided andpacketized into a plurality of transport packets is shown.

As shown, the payload of a fragmented packet may include a fragmentationunit. Additionally, when a transport protocol uses a packet of a fixedlength, the payload of a fragmented packet max include padding bits.

According to an embodiment, a fragmentation unit FU may include at leastone a Fragmentation unit header and Fragmentation unit data. TheFragmentation unit data may include part of one file format based mediadata. The Fragmentation unit header may include information offragmentation unit data.

In more detail, the fragmentation unit header may include at least oneof information representing whether fragmentation unit data includes thestart pan data among entire file media data, information representingwhether fragmentation unit data includes the end part data among entirefile media data, and information representing the type of afragmentation unit.

According to an embodiment, the information representing whetherfragmentation unit data includes the start part data among entire filemedia data may be referred to as a start bit field. In more detail, thestart part data may be part of entire data including the first bit ofentire media data.

For example. the fragmentation unit data of a corresponding payloadincludes start part data, the broadcast transmission device may setinformation representing whether fragmentation unit data includes thestart part data among entire file media data to 1. In more detail, theinformation representing whether fragmentation unit data includes thestart part data among entire file media data may be one bit.

According to an embodiment, the information representing whetherfragmentation unit data includes the end pan data among entire filemedia data may be referred to as an end bit field. In more detail, theend part data may be part of attire data including the end bit of entiremedia data.

For example, the fragmentation unit data of a corresponding payloadincludes end part data, the broadcast transmission device may setinformation representing whether fragmentation unit data includes theend part data among entire file media data to 1. In more detail, theinformation representing whether fragmentation unit data includes theend part data among entire file media data may be one bit.

According to an embodiment, information representing the type of afragmentation unit may be referred to as a fragmentation unit typefield.

According to an embodiment, a fragmentation unit type may represent thata corresponding packet indicates that a fragmentation unit includes afile format based basic file. In more detail, the file formal basedbasic file may be a media file having a file format based on ISO BMFF.According to a specific embodiment, the broadcast transmission devicemay set the fragmentation unit type to 0x00.

According to another embodiment, live fragmentation unit type mayrepresent that a corresponding fragmentation unit includes a file inSelf-initializing Segment format on MPEG-DASH. According to a specificembodiment, in this case, the broadcast transmission device may set thefragmentation unit type to 0x01.

According to another embodiment, the fragmentation unit type nunrepresent that a corresponding fragmentation unit includes a file inInitialization Segment format on MPEG-DASH. According to a specificembodiment, in this case, the broadcast transmission device may set thefragmentation unit to 0x02.

According to another embodiment, the fragmentation unit type mayrepresent that a corresponding fragmentation unit includes a file inmedia Segment format on MPEG-DASH. According to a specific embodiment,in this case, the broadcast transmission device may set thefragmentation unit to 0x03.

In more detail, information representing a fragmentation unit type maybe six bits.

FIG. 53 is a view illustrating a configuration of a payload in afragmented packet according to another embodiment of the presortinvention.

The embodiment may be applied to the case there is no informationrelating to the order of a transport packet in the header therein.

As shown, the fragmentation unit header in a fragmentation unit FU mayinclude at least one of information representing whether fragmentationunit data includes the start part data among entire file media data,information representing whether fragmentation unit data includes theend part data among entire file media data, information representing thetype of a fragmentation unit, and information representing the order inentire data of a fragmentation unit. Among the information, theremaining information other than the information representing the orderof a fragmentation unit is identical to that described with reference tothe previous figure.

The information representing the order of a fragmentation unit may bereferred to as a fragmentation number field. In more detail, when fileformat based media data is divided into a plurality of fragmentedpackets, the broadcast transmission device may set a value to theinformation representing the order of a fragmentation unit to assign theorder of a corresponding packet. According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the Fragmentation number field may be an 8-bitfield.

FIG. 54 is a view when a broadcast transmission device fragments an ISOBMFF based media file into a plurality of packets.

As shown, in ISO BMFF based media file may include ftyp and moov, and aplurality of moof and mdat.

The broadcast transmission device may divide an ISO BMFF based mediafile into a plurality of files and may then include them indifferentfragmentation unit data. Additionally, the broadcast transmission devicemay induce related information in a payload header by dividing an ISOBMFF based media file.

FIG. 55 is a view illustrating first fragmentation unit data packetizedby the broadcast transmission device.

As shown, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thebroadcast transmission device determines that there is no error orsyntax error in a corresponding packet and sets the F field to 0.

Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may set the Priorityfield to a value representing the highest priority. According to aspecific embodiment of the present invention, a corresponding value maybe 0x00.

Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may set the Type fieldto a value representing a packet for dividing one file format basedmedia file into several payloads and transmitting them. According to aspecific embodiment of the present invention, a corresponding value maybe 0x02.

The payload data may include a fragmentation unit. Again, thefragmentation unit may include a Stan bit field, an End bit field, afragmentation unit type field, and a fragmentation unit data field.

The broadcast transmission device may set the Start bit field to a valuerepresenting a content that a corresponding packet includes the startdata of a media file. In more detail, since a first fragmentation unitincludes the start data of media data as shown in FIG. 54. the broadcasttransmission device may set a value representing a corresponding contentto the start bit field.

Moreover, the broadcast transmission device may set the End bit field ofa first fragmentation unit shown in FIG. 55 to a value representing acontent that the end data of a media file is not included. According toa specific embodiment, the broadcast transmission device may set the Endbit field to 0 to represent a content that a corresponding packet doesnot include the end data of a media file.

Moreover, as shown, the broadcast transmission device may set thefragmentation unit type field to a value representing a content that diefirst fragmentation unit includes a file format based basic form offile. In more detail, the file format based basic form may be fileformat data following ISO BMFF. According to a specific embodiment, thebroadcast transmission device may set the fragmentation unit type fieldto 0x00 to represent corresponding content.

FIG. 56 is a view illustrating a fragmentation unit including remainingdata except for the start data in the fragmentation unit data accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thebroadcast transmission device may set the F field of a payload header toa value representing that there is no error or syntax error in acorresponding packet. According to a specific embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may set the F field to 0. Additionally, thebroadcast transmission device sets the Priority field to a valuerepresenting the payload data shown in FIG. 56 has a relatively lowpriority.

According to a specific embodiment, data signaling entire media data maynot be included from a second fragment unit. Accordingly, since thesecond fragmentation unit has a relatively lower priority than the firstfragmentation unit, the priority field may beset to a value having arelatively lower priority. For example, a corresponding value may be0x01.

Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may set the Type fieldto 0x02 as a Fragmented packet that a corresponding packet represents apacket dividing one file format based media file into several payloadsand transmitting them.

FIG. 57 is a view illustrating a payload configuration when payload datadoes not include fragmentation unit data including start data andfragmentation unit data including end data.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, since thefragmentation unit data does not include start data and end data, thebroadcast transmission device may set the start bit field and the endbit field to a value representing corresponding information. Accordingto a specific embodiment, the broadcast transmission device may set thestart bit and end bit fields to 0.

Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may set the content thata fragmentation unit type field includes a tile format based basic formof file to a specific value of a fragmentation unit type field. In moredetail, the file format based basic form may be file formal datafollowing ISO BMFF. According to a specific embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may set the fragmentation unit type field to 0x00 torepresent corresponding content. File format based media data dividedinto packets may have a unique order from an entire file. The broadcastreception device 100 may identify that the fragmentation unit datadivided through the control unit 150 includes the start part amongentire data on the basis of the start bit field. Additionally, the factthat the fragmentation unit data includes the end part in entire datamay be identified on the basis of the End bit field. However, there maybe a case that cannot be identified only by the Start bit field and theEnd bit field.

When the fragmentation unit data does not include start data or end datain entire data, the broadcast reception device 100 may identify acorresponding packet through information representing the order of thefragmentation unit data included in a payload according to anembodiment. In more detail, information representing the order offragmentation unit data may be a fragmentation number field.Additionally, a broadcast transmission device may set the order ofcorresponding fragmentation unit data to the above-mentionedpresentation field.

However, according to another embodiment, a transport packet may notinclude order information of fragmentation unit data. In this case,according to an embodiment, a broadcast transmission device may insertinformation for identifying the order of fragmentation unit data into apacket header. The information for identifying the order offragmentation unit data into a packet header mas be referred to as asequence number field. According to another embodiment, a broadcasttransmission device may insert information for identifying the order offragmentation unit data into offset information of an IP datagram.

FIG. 58 is a view illustrating a configuration of a payload including afragmentation unit including the end data among divided entire mediadata. In more detail, the figure is a view illustrating a payloadconfiguration when payload data does not include fragmentation unit dataincluding start data but includes fragmentation unit data including enddata.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, since thefragmentation unit data includes end data, the broadcast transmissiondevice may set the start bit field and the end bit field to a valuerepresenting corresponding information. According to a specificembodiment, the broadcast transmission device may set the start field to0. Then, the broadcast transmission device may set the end bit field to1.

Additionally, a broadcast transmission device may set the fragmentationunit type field to represent the content that media data including acorresponding packet includes a basic form of file starting from ISOBMFF based ftyp. According to a specific embodiment, a broadcasttransmission device may set the fragmentation unit type field to 0x00.

Data that a broadcast transmission device transmits through a transportpacket may include metadata in addition to the above-mentioned mediadata.

The metadata represents additional information necessary for providingmedia data Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 59 to 66, suggested are abroadcast transmission device and an operating method thereof, and abroadcast reception device and an operating method thereof, in order forpacketizing metadata in a transport packet and transmitting andreceiving it.

Additionally, hereinafter, timeline information is mainly described asone example of metadata. The timeline information is a series of timeinformation for media content. In more detail, the timeline informationmay be a series of time information for presentation or decoding.

Additionally, the timeline information may include base timelineinformation. The basic timeline means a reference timeline necessary forsynchronizing media data transmitted through a plurality of differenttransmission networks. In more detail, when the timeline of media datatransmitted through a second transmission network is mapped into thetimeline of media data transmitted through a first transmission network,the timeline of the media data transmitted through the firsttransmission network becomes a basic timeline.

Moreover, the broadcast transmission device may express the metadata inXML format. Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may expressthe metadata in a descriptor format includable in a signaling table.

FIG. 59 is a view illustrating a timeline signaling table of metadataaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the timelinesignaling table may include information representing metadata relatingto a timeline or information that corresponding metadata includes atimeline component access unit. The above information may be referred toas an identifier field. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent intention, the identifier field may be an 8-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include information representing the lengthof timeline information of a timeline component access unit. The aboveinformation may be referred to as an AU_length field. According to aspecific embodiment of the present invention, the AU_length field may bea 32-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include information on whether includinglocation information on services and/or content components relating to atimeline component access unit. The above information may be referred toas a location_flag field. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, the location_flag field may be a 1-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of die present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include version information of a timestampin a timeline component access unit. The timestamp represents timeinformation through which a corresponding access unit needs to beoutputted in a continuous timeline. The above information may bereferred to as a timestamp_version field. According to a specificembodiment of the present invention, the timestamp_version field may bea 1-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include timestamp type information of atimeline component access unit. The above information may be referred toas a timestamp_type field.

According to an embodiment, the timestamp type information may be set toa value representing a decoding time of a service or content componentrelating to a timeline component access unit. In more detail, thedecoding time of a content component may be referred to as a decodingtimestamp. According to a specific embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may set timestamp type information to 0x00 whencorresponding information represents a decoding time.

According to another embodiment, the timestamp type information may beset to a value representing the presentation time of a service orcontent component relating to a timeline component access unit. In moredetail, the presentation time of a content component may be referred toas a presentation timestamp. According to a specific embodiment, thebroadcast transmission device may set timestamp type information to 0x01when corresponding information represents a presentation time.

Moreover, according to a specific embodiment of the present invention,the timestamp_type field may be a 1-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include timestamp format information of atimeline component access unit. The above information may be referred toas a timestamp_format field.

According to an embodiment, the timestamp format information mayrepresent that a timestamp in a timeline component access unit is aformat of a media time. According to a specific embodiment, thebroadcast transmission device may set the timestamp_format field to 0x00to represent that the timestamp format of a corresponding access unit isa media time format.

According to another embodiment, the timestamp format information mayrepresent that a timestamp in a timeline component access unit is aformat of a Network time protocol (NTP). According to a specificembodiment, the broadcast transmission device may set thetimestamp_format field to 0x01 to represent that the timestamp format ofa corresponding access unit is an NTP format.

According to another embodiment, the timestamp format information mayrepresent that a timestamp in a timeline component access unit is aformat of a MPEG DASH media presentation time. According to a specificembodiment, the broadcast transmission device may set thetimestamp_format field to 0x02 to represent that the timestamp format ofa corresponding access unit is a MPEG DASH media presentation time. Themedia time field indicating a media time may representing a mediapresentation time of MPEF DASH.

According to another embodiment, the timestamp format information mayrepresent that a timestamp in a timeline component access unit is aformat of a NPT (now playing time). According to a specific embodiment,the broadcast transmission device may set the timestamp_format field to0x03 to represent that the timestamp format of a corresponding accessunit is a NPT (now playing time) format.

According to another embodiment, the timestamp format information mayrepresent that a timestamp in a timeline component access unit is aformat of a timecode. According to a specific embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may set the timestamp_format field to 0x04 torepresent that the timestamp format of a corresponding access unit is atimecode format. Moreover, according to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, the timestamp_format field may be a 4-bit field.

According to another embodiment, the timestamp format information mayrepresent that a timestamp in a timeline component access unit is aformat of a precision time protocol (PTP).

According to another embodiment, the timestamp format information mayhave values 0x05-0x0E which is reserved for the future use.

According to another embodiment, the timestamp format information mayhave a value 0x0F for representing a timestamp format for a private use.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include location information on a componentof service or content relating to information in a timestamp in atimeline component access unit. The above information may be referred toas a location field. The location information may indicates anidentifier MPD (Media Presentation Description) of the MPEG DASH or anMPD URL of the stream, content component or service.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include information representing the lengthof the location information. The information representing a locationinformation length may be referred to as a location_length field.According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, thelocation_length field may be an 8-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include timestamp formal versioninformation of a basic timestamp that is a matching reference. The aboveinformation may be referred to as an origin_timestamp_version field.

According to an embodiment, when the origin_timestamp_version field isset to 0, this represents that a timestamp format has a 32-bit format.According to another embodiment, when the origin_timestamp_version fieldis set to 1, this represents that a timestamp format has a 64-bitformat.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include timestamp type information of abasic timeline. The above information may be referred to as anorigin_timestamp_type field.

According to an embodiment, the origin_timestamp_type field may be setto a value representing a decoding time of a service or contentcomponent relating to a basic timeline. In more detail, the decodingtime of a content component may be referred to as a decoding timestamp.According to a specific embodiment, the broadcast transmission devicemay set the origin_timestamp_type field to 0x00 when correspondinginformation represents a decoding time.

According to another embodiment, the origin_timestamp_type field may beset to a value representing a presentation time of a service or contentcomponent relating to a basic timeline. In more detail, the presentationtime of a content component may be referred to as a presentationtimestamp. According to a specific embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may set the origin_timestamp_type field to 0x01 whencorresponding information represents a presentation time.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include information representing atimestamp format for a base timeline. The above information may bereferred to as an origin timestamp format field.

According to an embodiment, the origin_timestamp_format field mayrepresent that a timestamp of a basic timeline is a format of a mediatime. According to a specific embodiment, the broadcast transmissiondevice may set the origin_timestamp_format field to 0x00 to representthat the timestamp format of a corresponding basic timeline is a mediatime format.

According to another embodiment, the origin_timestamp_format field mayrepresent that a timestamp of a basic timeline is a format of an NTP.According to a specific embodiment, the broadcast transmission devicemay set the origin_timestamp_format field to 0x01 to represent that thetimestamp format of a corresponding basic timeline is an NTP format.

According to another embodiment, the origin timestamp format field mayrepresent that a timestamp of a basic timeline is a format of a MPEGDASH media presentation time. According to a specific embodiment, thebroadcast transmission device may set the timestamp_format field to 0x02to represent that the timestamp format of a corresponding basic timelineis a MPEG DASH media presentation time format.

According to another embodiment, the origin_timestamp_format field mayrepresent that a timestamp of a basic timeline is a formal of a NPT (nowplaying time). According to a specific embodiment, the broadcasttransmission device may set the origin_timestamp_format field to 0x03 torepresent that the timestamp format of a corresponding basic timeline isa NPT (now playing time) format.

According to another embodiment, the origin_timestamp_format field mayrepresent that a timestamp of a basic timeline is a format of atimecode. According to a specific embodiment, the broadcast transmissiondevice may set the origin_timestamp_format field to 0x04 to representthat the timestamp format of a corresponding basic timeline is atimecode format.

According to another embodiment, the origin_timestamp_format field mayrepresent that a timestamp of a basic timeline is a format of aprecision time protocol (PTP).

The values 0x05-0x0E is reserved for the origin_timestamp_format fieldfor the future use.

The origin_timestamp_format field may have a value 0x0F for representingthis field is used for private use.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include information on whether includinglocation information on services and content components relating to abasic timeline that is a timeline mapping reference. The aboveinformation may be referred to as an origin_location_flag field.According to an embodiment, when the origin_location_flag field is setto a value other than 0, a timeline AU may include at least one of anorigin_location_length field and an origin_location field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include location information on a serviceor content relating to a basic timeline. The above information may bereferred to as an origin_location field. According to a specificembodiment, information in the origin_location field may be an IPaddress, a port number, or a URI form.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include length information of positioninformation on a service or content relating to a basic timeline. Theabove information may be referred to as an origin_location_length field.According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, theorigin_location_length field may be an 8-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, whena basic timeline that the reference of timeline mapping is a format of amedia time, the timeline signaling table may include information of anavailable time scale. The above information may be referred to as anorigin timescale field. For example, in the case of MPEG-2 TS, the timescale may represent 9000 Hz. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, the origin_timescale field may be a 32-bit field.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include media time information on a basictimeline. The above information may be referred to as anorigin_media_time field. Moreover, the origin_media_time Held may meandifferently according to origin_timestamp_type. For example, whenorigin_timestamp_type means PTS, the origin_media_time field mayrepresent a presentation time. For example, when origin_timestamp_typemeans DTS, the origin_media_time field may represent a decoding time.According to a specific embodiment, the origin_media_time field may be32 bits when the origin_timestamp_version field is set to 0 and may be64 bits when the origin_timestamp_version field is set to 1.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thetimeline signaling table may include timestamp type information of abasic timeline. The above information may be referred to as anorigin_timestamp field. The basic timeline timestamp information mayrepresent different formats of timestamps according to a value of theorigin_timestamp_format field. Additionally, the basic timelinetimestamp information may represent different meanings according to avalue of the origin_timestamp_type field. For example, whenorigin_timestamp_type signals PTS, the basic timeline timestampinformation may represent a presentation time.

For example, when the origin_timestamp_type field represents DTS and theorigin_timestamp_format field is 0x01, the corresponding origintimestamp field may represent a decoding time expressed in NTP.According to a specific embodiment, the origin_timestamp field may be 32bits when the origin_timestamp_version field is set to 0 and may be 64bits when the origin_timestamp_version field is set to 1.

According to an embodiment, when the origin_timestamp_format fieldrepresents reserved, a timeline AU may include at least one of aprivate_data_length field and a private_data_bytes( ) field.

The private_data_length field ma represent the byte unit length of theprivate_data_bytes( ) field. According to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention, the private_data_length field may be a 16-bit field.

The private_data_bytes( ) field may define by the length that theprivate_data_length field represents or may include future expansioncontent.

FIG. 60 is a view illustrating a configuration of payload data in whichone metadata is packetized in payload data of a transport packet.

According to an embodiment, the payload data may include metadata andthe metadata may include media stream related timeline data.Additionally, according to an embodiment, when a broadcasts transmissiondevice uses a packet of a fixed length in a transport protocol, payloaddata may include a padding bit additionally.

FIG. 61 is a view when payload data of a transport packet includesmetadata for a timeline according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown, according to an embodiment, the payload header may include atleast one of an F field, a Priority field, and a Type field.

According to an embodiment, a broadcast transmission device may set theF field to a value representing there is no error or syntax violation ina payload. In more detail, the broadcast transmission device may set theF field to 0. Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may setthe Priority field to a value representing the highest priority aspayload data includes all important data of a media file configuration.In more detail, the broadcast transmission device may set the Priorityfield to 0x00. Additionally, the broadcast transmission device may setthe Type field to a value representing information including metadata oftimeline information in a payload. In more detail, the broadcasttransmission device may set the Type field to 0x03. Additionally, themetadata may include the syntax described above.

FIG. 62 is a view when a plurality of metadata are packetized in onetransport packet.

As shown, the case that one transport packet includes a plurality ofmetadata may be referred to as an aggregation packet. According to anembodiment, the payload data may include a plurality of aggregationunits.

The aggregation packet may include metadata for media streams, payloadsof video data, or payloads of audio data.

According to an embodiment, the aggregation unit may include informationrepresenting the length of metadata. According to another embodiment,when there is a metadata header field additionally, the aggregation unitmay include information on the sum of a metadata header field and ametadata field length. The above information may be referred to as ametadata length field.

FIG. 63 is a view when one transport packet includes several timelineinformation.

In more detail, the figure illustrates the case that one transportpacket includes a plurality of timeline information having differentreferences in relation to one media stream. According to an embodiment,a transport packet may include a payload header and/or a content of thepayload header is identical to that of the figure described above.

Additionally, according to an embodiment, the payload data may includetwo aggregation units. However, the number of aggregation units inpayload data may be two or more.

According to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 62, each aggregation unitmay include at least one of a metadata length field, a metadata headerfield, and a metadata field including timeline information.

However, the first aggregation unit shown in FIG. 63 may include ametadata field including a first timeline and the second aggregationunit may include a metadata field including a second timeline. Accordingto a specific embodiment, each timeline may have data based on differentreferences. For example, the first timeline may have data based on amedia time and the second timeline may have data based on NTP.

FIG. 64 is a view illustrating a packet payload in which one metadata isdivided and packetized in a plurality of transport packets.

According to an embodiment, when the length of one metadata is greaterthan the length of a transport packet, in this case, a broadcasttransmission deuce may divide corresponding metadata in severaltransport packets and may then transmit them. As shown, a transportpacket may include at least one of a payload header, a metadata fragmentheader, and/or a metadata fragment. Additionally, when a transportprotocol uses a packet of a fixed length, a transport packet may includepadding bits.

As shown, according to an embodiment, a metadata fragment header mayinclude information representing whether a metadata fragment in payloaddata of a corresponding transport packet includes the start part ofentire metadata. In more detail, the start part data may be part ofentire data including the first bit of entire media data. The aboveinformation may be referred to as a start bit field. According to aspecific embodiment of the present invention, the start bit field may bea 1-bit field. According to an embodiment, the broadcast transmissiondevice may set start bit to 1 when a metadata fragment in acorresponding transport packet includes the start part of entiremetadata.

According to another embodiment, a metadata fragment header may includeinformation representing whether a metadata fragment in payload data ofa corresponding transport packet includes the end part of entiremetadata. In more detail, the end pan data may be part of entire dataincluding the end bit of entire media data. The above information may bereferred to as an end bit field According to a specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the end bit field may be a 1-bit field. Accordingto an embodiment, the broadcast transmission device may set end bit to 1when a metadata fragment in a corresponding transport packet includesthe end part of entire metadata.

According to another embodiment, the metadata header may includeinformation representing a metadata type. The above information may bereferred to as a metadata type field. According to a specificembodiment, the metadata type may represent that a correspondingmetadata fragment includes timeline information. In this case, thebroadcast transmission device may set the metadata type field to 0x00.According to another embodiment, the metadata type may represent that acorresponding metadata fragment includes metadata relating to labeling.In this case, the broadcast transmission device may set the metadatatype field to 0x01. According to a specific embodiment of the presentinvention, the metadata type field may be a 5-bit field.

FIG. 65 is a view illustrating a metadata fragment header according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, description for the same content as that of the figure isomitted.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a metadata fragmentheader may include information representing the order of a metadatafragment in a corresponding packet payload. The above information may bereferred to as a Fragmentation number field. The broadcast receptiondevice 100 may determine which number metadata is included in acorresponding packet on the basis of metadata fragment order informationin a packet payload.

FIG. 66 is a view illustrating an operation when a broadcast receptiondevice receives a broadcast packet according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

When it is determined that the data in the payload is not the media datain operation S205 of the previous figure, the control unit 150 of thebroadcast reception device 100 determines whether entire metadata isincluded one transport packet in operation S301. In more detail, thecontrol unit 150 may determine that data in a payload is not metadatainstead of media data from payload header information. Then, the controlunit 150 may determine whether corresponding entire metadata is includedin one transport packet and transmitted. As mentioned above, one or moredifferent metadata may be included in one transport packet. Or, onemetadata is divided and included in a plurality of different transportpackets.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the controlunit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100 determines that entiremetadata is included in one transport packet, the control unit 150extracts metadata from one packet payload in operation S303. In moredetail, the control unit 150 extracts a payload header and extractsmetadata on the basis of the extracted payload header. According to atembodiment, the control unit 150 may extract one metadata from onepacket payload. Moreover, according to another embodiment, the controlunit 150 may extract a plurality of metadata from one packet payload.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the controlunit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100 may determine that onemetadata is divided and included in a plurality of transport packets. Inthis case, the control unit 150 extracts metadata from a plurality ofpackets payloads in operation S305. According to a specific embodiment,one metadata may be divided and packetized in a plurality of transportpackets. The control unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100obtains metadata signaling data from a packet payload. Then, the controlunit 150 may extract metadata from a plurality of packet payloads on thebasis of the obtained signaling data.

The control unit 150 of the broadcast reception device 100 providescontent on the basis of the extracted metadata in operation S307.According to a specific embodiment, the control unit 150 may obtain thepresentation or decoding time information of a content from metadata.According to another embodiment, the control unit 150 may obtain contentdescribing information front metadata.

FIG. 67 is a view when video stream is transmitted using RTP throughbroadcast network and video stream is transmitted using file formatbased media data through an internet network. In this case, afterreceiving an RTP packet or IP/UDP packet including timeline relatedmetadata, the broadcast reception device 100 may allow decoding andpresentation between related streams by matching an RTP protocol basedvideo stream and a DASH based video stream.

FIG. 68 is a view illustrating syntax of a timeline component accessunit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The timeline component AU may include additional metadata associatedwith media streams transmitted through a broadcast network or theInternet. A timeline component AU including metadata regarding atimeline associated with a media stream is shown in the figure.

The timeline component AU may be represented in a different formal suchas XML.

The timeline component AU may include identifier information, AU_lengthinformation, location_flag information, origin_timestamp_flaginformation, timestamp_version information, timestamp_type information,timestamp_format information, location_length information, locationinformation, origin_timestamp_version information, origin_timestamp_typeinformation, origin_timestamp_format information, origin_location_flaginformation, origin_location_length information, origin_locationinformation, origin_timescale information, origin_media_timeinformation, origin_timestamp information, private_data_lengthinformation, private_data_bytes( )information, timescale information,media_time information, timestamp information and/or data_bytes( )information.

Description of information having the same names as the aforementionedinformation included in the syntax of the timeline component AU isreplaced by the aforementioned corresponding description.

The identifier information may be an identifier indicating metadataassociated with the timeline or an identifier indicating the timelinecomponent access unit (AU) syntax is included.

The AU_length information can indicate the length of informationincluded in the timeline component AU.

The location_flag information can indicate whether location informationabout services and content components associated with the informationincluded in the timeline component AU is included.

The origin_timestamp_flag information can indicate whether informationrelated to the origin timestamp.

The timestamp_version information can indicate version information ofthe timestamp included in the timeline component AU.

The timestamp_type information can indicate the type of the timestampincluded in the timeline component AU. For example, when thetimestamp_type information has a value of 0x00, the timestamp_typeinformation can indicate a decoding timestamp (DTS) that represents adecoding time of data (e.g. audio access unit) such as an access unit ofan associated service/content component. When the timestamp_typeinformation has a value of 0x01, the timestamp_type information canindicate a presentation timestamp (PTS) that represents a reproductiontime of data (e.g. audio access unit) such as an access unit of anassociated service/content component.

The timestamp_format information can indicate the formal of thetimestamp included in the timeline component AU. For example, when thetimestamp_format information has a value of 0x00, the timestamp_formatinformation indicates media time. Further, the timestamp_formatinformation can indicate a network time protocol (NTP) when thetimestamp_format information is 0x01, indicate PTS when thetimestamp_format information is 0x02, and indicate a timecode when thetimestamp_format information is 0x03. Values of 0x04 to 0x0F can bereserved for later extension.

The location_length information can indicate the length of the locationfield.

The location information can indicate location information aboutservices and content components associated with the information includedin the timeline component AU. The location information can berepresented in the form of IP address-port number or URI.

The origin_timestamp_version information can indicate the version of thetimestamp format for a base timeline that can be a standard of timelinemapping. When the corresponding field value is 0, this value canindicate that a 32-bit format is used. When the field value is 1, thisvalue can indicate that a 64-bit format is used. For example, when avideo stream is transmitted through a broadcast network and an audiostream is transmitted through the Internet, a base timeline that becomesa standard during timeline mapping of the video stream and the audiostream can be a timestamp of the video stream transmitted through thebroadcast network. In this case, origin_timestamp_version can indicatethe timestamp format for the video stream transmitted through thebroadcast network.

The origin_timestamp_type information can indicate the type of thetimestamp for the base timeline that can be a standard of timelinemapping. For example, when the origin_timestamp_type information has avalue of 0x00, the origin_timestamp_type information can indicate adecoding timestamp (DTS) that represents a decoding time of data (e.g.audio access unit) such as access units of services/content componentsassociated with the base timeline. When the origin_timestamp_typeinformation has a value of 0x01, the origin_timestamp_type informationcan indicate a presentation timestamp (PTS) that represents areproduction time of data (e.g audio access unit) such as access unitsof services/content components associated with the base timeline.

The origin_timestamp_format information can indicate the format of thetimestamp for the base timeline that can be a timeline napping standard.For example, when the origin_timestamp_format information has a value of0x00, the origin_timestamp_format information indicates media time. Whenthe origin_timestamp_format information has a value of 0x01, theorigin_timestamp_format information indicates NTP (Network TimeProtocol). In addition, the origin_timestamp_format information canindicate PTS when the origin_timestamp_format information is 0x02 andindicate a timecode when the origin_timestamp_format information is0x03. Values of 0x04 to 0x0F can be reserved for later extension.

The origin_location_flag information can indicate whether locationinformation about services and content components associated with thebase timeline that can be a timeline mapping standard is included

The origin_location_length information can indicate the length of theorigin_location field.

The origin_location information can indicate location information aboutservices and content components associated with the base timeline thatcan be a timeline mapping standard. The origin_location information canbe represented in the form of IP address port number or URI.

The origin_timescale information can indicate a time scale that can beused when the media time of the base timeline corresponding to thetimeline mapping standard is represented For example, the timescale canhave a value of 90K in the case of MPEG-2 TS.

The origin_media_time information can indicate the media time on thebase timeline corresponding to the timeline mapping standard. Meaning ofthe media time may depend on origin_timestamp_type. For example, theorigin_media_time information can indicate a media time with respect toreproduction time when origin_timestamp_type is PTS and indicate a mediatime with respect to a decoding time when origin_timestamp_type is DTS.The origin_media_time information can be represented as 32 bits whenorigin_timestamp_version is 0 and as 64 bits when origin timestampversion is 1.

The origin_timestamp information can indicate a timestamp in differentformats on the base timeline corresponding to the timeline mappingstandard according to die field value of origin_timestamp_format.Meaning of the timestamp corresponding to the origin timestampinformation may depend on origin_timestamp_type. For example, thecorresponding timestamp of the origin_timestamp information can indicatea decoding time represented as NTP when origin_timestamp_type is DTS andongin_timestamp_format has a value of ‘0x01’. The origin_timestampinformation can be represented as 32 bits when origin_timestamp_versionis 0 and as 64 bits when origin_timestamp_version is 1.

The private_data_length information can indicate the length of thefollowing private_data_bytes in bytes.

The private_data_bytes( ) information is privately defined by the lengthof private_data_length or indicates a region for later extension.

The timescale information can indicate a time scale that can be used torepresent a media time.

The media_time information can indicate a media time. The meaning of themedia time corresponding to the media_time information may depend ontimestamp_type. For example, the media_time information can indicate amedia tune with respect to a reproduction time when timestamp_type isPTS. The media_time information can be represented as 322 bits whentimestamp_version is 0 and as 64 bits when timestamp_version is 1.

The timestamp information can indicate a timestamp in different formatsaccording to the field value of timestamp_format. Meaning of thetimestamp corresponding to the timestamp information may depend ontimestamp_type. For example, the timestamp corresponding to thetimestamp information can indicate a decoding time represented as NTPwhen timestamp_type is DTS and timestamp_format has a value of ‘0x01’.The timestamp information can be represented as 32 bits whentimestamp_version is 0 and as 64 bits when timestamp_version is 1.

The data_bytes( ) information indicates fields or a region for laterextension.

Data such as audio/video streams transmitted through the RTP protocoland data such as audio/video data transmitted through MPEG DASH can besynchronized on the basis of the base timeline such as NTP to decode orreproduce broadcast content by mapping a media presentation timerepresented as a specific timescale (e.g. 10000 hz) of MPEG DASH with anNTP based timestamp.

FIG. 69 illustrates a transport packet format for supporting mediasynchronization on a real-time content transport protocol according toan embodiment of the present invention.

In the case of a transport protocol supporting real-time contenttransmission, for example, real-time transport protocol (RTP), an RTPpacket can include an audio access unit or a video network abstractionnlayer (NAL) unit. To support decoding and/or reproduction ofaudio/video streams by synchronizing the audio/video streams on the RTP,an RTP control protocol (RTCP) packet can be used. The RTCP packet,generated by a transmitting end, includes information about a matchingrelationship between an RTP timestamp included in an RTP packet headerand a network time protocol (NTP), and a receiving end synchronizesstreams by matching decoding and reproduction time of the streams to anNTP based timeline using the information.

To this end, an RTCP sender report packet may include V (version)information, P (padding) information, reception report count (RC)information, payload type information, length information,synchronization source identifier information, NTP timestampinformation, RTP timestamp information, sender's packet countinformation, sender's octet count information, reception report blockand/or profile-specific extension.

The V (version) information indicates version information of the RTP.

The P (padding) information indicates presence or absence of paddingbits in a payload.

The reception report count (RC) information indicates the number ofreception reports.

The payload type information indicates the type of the payload of theRTCP packet. The payload type information can indicate which one of asender report, a reception report or an application-specific packet isincluded in the payload.

The length information indicates the length of the RTCP packet.

The synchronization source identifier information is an identifier foridentifying a source of a stream.

The NTP timestamp information represents the timestamp of the networktime protocol as 64 bits.

The RTP timestamp information indicates an RTP timestamp valueassociated with the NTP timestamp field.

The sender's packet count information corresponds to the total number ofRTP data packets transmitted by the sender since starting transmissionup until the time this SR packet was generated. The count is reset ifthe sender changes its SSRC identifier.

The sender's octet count information corresponds to the total number ofpayload octets (i.e., not including header or padding) transmitted inRTP data packets by the sender since starting transmission up until thetime this SR packet was generated. The count is reset if the senderchanges its SSRC identifier. This field can be used to estimate theaverage payload data rate.

The profile-specific extension can indicate a field that can be extendedaccording to transport protocol profile. This field can includeprofile-specific information and can include different pieces ofinformation or be interpreted according to profile.

FIG. 70 illustrates the profile-specific extension according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Information for supporting time synchronization with different transportprotocol packets transmitted through the same network or differenttransport protocol based packets (e.g. MPEG DASH segments deliveredthrough broadband) delivered through different network can be added tothe profile-specific extension field of the RTCP sender report packet.The corresponding packet can be configured in a different format. Forexample, an NTP timestamp can be mapped to an RTP timestamp or DASHmedia representation time on the basis of the NTP timestamp.

The aforementioned profile-specific extension included in the RTCPsender report packet may include profile version information, locationflag information, timestamp format information, timestamp informationand/or location information.

The profile version information can indicate the version information ofa profile.

The location flag can indicate whether the location field is included.

The timestamp format information can indicate the format of the includedtimestamp field.

For example, 0x00 and 0x07 to 0x0F are reserved as timestamp formalinformation values. When the timestamp format information has a value of0x01, this value indicates media time. The timestamp format informationcan indicate NTP when the timestamp format information has a value of0x02, indicate normal playing time when the timestamp format informationhas a value of 0x03, indicate an SMPTE time code when the timestampformat information has a value of 0x04, indicate a 90 kHz basedtimestamp when the timestamp format information has a value of 0x05 andindicate GPS time when the timestamp format information has a value of0x06.

When the timestamp format information has a value of 0x01, this valuecan indicate that the format of the timestamp field is media time, andthe media time can correspond to media presentation time of MPEG DASH.

The timestamp information can include related timing information. Forexample, the timestamp information can include related presentationreference clock information of an MPD of MPEG DASH. The timestampinformation can include timing information such as a timescale and/or areference timeline based on the timescale.

The location information can indicate MPD related information (e.g. MPDid or URL) of MPEG DASH, which is associated with the timestamp fieldvalue.

In addition, information included in the syntax of the aforementionedtimeline component access unit may be included in the profile-specificextension.

FIG. 71 illustrates an RTPC application packet corresponding to anapplication-defined RTCP Packet according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

The RTCP packet may include V (version) information, P (padding)information, subtype information, payload type information, lengthinformation, name information and/or application-dependent data.

The V (version) information indicates version information of the RTPprotocol.

The P (padding) information indicates presence or absence of paddingbits in a payload.

The subtype information can indicate the subtype of the RTCP packetpayload.

The payload type information indicates the type of the RTCP packetpayload. The payload type information can indicate that the payloadincludes the application-specific packet.

The length information indicates the length of the RTCP packet.

The name information can include information such as an applicationname.

The application-dependent data can include application-restrictedinformation.

FIG. 72 illustrates the application-dependent data according to anembodiment of the present invention.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, timing informationfor time synchronization can be transmitted/received using theapplication-dependent data field.

The application-dependent data field may include data type information,version information, location flag information, timestamp formatinformation, NTP timestamp information, timestamp information and/orlocation information.

The data type information can indicate the type of data included in thecorresponding field.

The version information can indicate version information of the profileof the corresponding packet.

The location flag information can indicate whether the correspondingpacket includes the location field.

The timestamp format information can indicate the format of the includedtimestamp field. For example, 0x00 and 0x07 to 0x0F, from amongtimestamp format information values, may be reserved for later use. Thetimestamp format information can indicate media time, network timeprotocol (NTP), normal playing time (NPT), an SMPTE time code, a 90 kHzbased timestamp and GPS time when the timestamp formal information hasvalues of 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05 and 0x06, respectively.

For example, the media presentation time of MPEG DASH can be representedas media time corresponding to a timestamp format information value of0x01. Alternatively, the media presentation time of MPEG DASH can beindicated by allocating a different value to the timestamp formatinformation.

The NTP timestamp information indicates the timestamp of the networktime protocol.

The timestamp information may include related timing information. Forexample, the timestamp information can include related presentationreference clock information of the MPD of MPEG DASH. The timestampinformation can include timing information such as a timescale and/or areference timeline based on the timescale.

The location information can indicate MPD related information (e.g. MPDid or URL) of MPEG DASH, which is associated with the timestamp fieldvalue.

When the aforementioned application-dependent data field is used, theMPEG DASH media presentation time can be mapped to the timestamp of thenetwork transport protocol when RTP transmission/reception protocol isused for a broadcast network and MPEG DASH based media data istransmitted/received through the Internet. Since RTP timestamps ofaudio/video data can also be mapped to the RTP timestamp, broadcastcontent can be decoded and/or reproduced by achieving synchronizationbetween RTP packets and MPEG DASH data.

FIG. 73 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack that may be applied to the broadcast system.

In terrestrial broadcast channel, streaming data (e.g., video, audio,closed caption) can be delivered via RTP or ALC/LCT extension overIP/UDP. Especially, access unit of streaming data can be delivered viaRTP or ISO BMFF object including the set of access units of streamingdata can be delivered via ALC/LCT extension. Moreover, non-real-timefiles can be delivered via FLUTE over ACL/LCT. In addition, IP/UDPdatagrams or link layer signaling can be encapsulated in link layer anddelivered as encapsulated forms.

In broadband network, MPEG DASH can support the delivery of streamingdata and HTTP can support file delivery over unicast channel. Overmulticast channel, streaming data can be delivered via MPEG DASH or RTP,and file can be delivered via FLUTE.

The figure shows an example of these protocol stacks for contentdelivery in future broadcasting systems, including the clock referencestreams. The clock reference streams may include data or information forproviding reference timings between various streams (ex. video, audio,or data streams) which can be provided from various source.

An encapsulation in the link layer will be further described below.There can be different methods that can transmit directly the relevantpackets without any link layer encapsulation.

The link layer provides encapsulation of IP packets, MPEG-2 TS and/orother protocol packets. Using link layer encapsulation, the physicallayer can process one encapsulation packet format, independent of thenetwork layer protocol type. Basically, network layer packets aretransformed into the payload of link layer packets. Concatenation andsegmentation of network layer packets into link layer packets can beperformed in order to use the physical layer resources efficiently.

For the concatenation, when the network layer packet is small, thepayload of a link layer packet includes several network layer packets.The link layer packet header includes fields to perform concatenation.The link layer packet header may include information specifying whetherthere is a concatenation for the network layer packets, informationspecifying an order of the concatenation between the network layerpackets, and/or information specifying a number of the network layerpackets to be concatenated in the link layer packet.

For segmentation and reassembly, when the network layer packet is toolarge to process in the physical layer, the network layer packet isdivided into two or more segments. The link layer packet header includesfields to perform segmentation on the sending side and reassembly on thereceiving side. The link layer packet header may include informationspecifying the network layer packet where a payload of this link layerpacket may be included, information specifying a number of thesegmentations of the network layer packet, information specifying anorder of each of the segmentations in the network layer packet, and/orinformation specifying a first segmentation and/or a last segmentationof the network layer packet.

For overhead reduction, the link layer provides optional headercompression for reduction of overhead in IP flows. Header compressioncan be based on the RoHC (Robust Header compression) framework. The RoHCframework can operate in the unidirectional mode.

For link layer signaling transmission, the link layer provides transportof signaling information such as a fast information channel, EAS(Emergency Alert System) messages and/or signaling generated at the linklayer such as information for overhead reduction.

For signaling through a fast information channel, the main purpose ofthe fast information channel is to efficiently deliver essentialinformation for rapid channel scan and service acquisition. Thisinformation primarily includes binding information between broadcastservices and the physical data pipe.

For transport of EAS signaling, If the physical layer supports a specialemergency alert channel with adequate bandwidth to carry basic emergencyalert messages (e.g., Common Alerting Protocol messages), this channelcan carry emergency alert related signaling and the basic emergencyalert messages. Additional media files can be delivered via separatedata pipes. If the physical layer only supports low bandwidthnotifications that emergency alert messages are available, then basicalert messages and additional media files can be delivered via separatedata pipes. In both cases the separate data pipes can be configured tohave high robustness.

An overview of the signaling and a description of the “bootstrap”process a device goes through to get the signaling information in futurebroadcasting systems will be described below. There can be three levelsof signaling in each broadcast stream:

(a) List of all services that have at least one component in thebroadcast stream, with skeletal information about each service (e.g.,name, channel number, service type), and a pointer to the location ofdetailed information about each service (unless the PHY layer provides adedicated physical layer pipe and there is a dedicated IP multicastaddress/port for such detailed information). This list can be used tobuild a service table during a quick service scan.

(b) Properties of each service that has at least one component in thebroadcast stream, analogous to A/65 VCT (excluding Service LocationDescriptor), or service level information in A/153 SMT or the URL of theDASH MPD for each service containing one or more components, and apointer to the location of detailed information about the components ofthe service (unless this information is in the same location as theservice level information).

(c) Location and properties of each component of each service, analogousto MPEG-2 PMT or component level information in A/153 SMT, or DASH MPD.Location of a component would include the physical channel, physicallayer pipe, IP multicast address and port, and TSI of ALC/LCT+ session(where applicable) for components delivered by broadcast, or the URL ofthe DASH MPD for components delivered via broadband (with informationfor indicating a DASH adaptation set or a DASH Representation in theDASH MPD associated with a component delivered via broadband). For thepurposes of this signaling, the clock reference streams will beconsidered to be components of the services.

When a viewer selects a service, the device would look in the servicetable built from the level (a) signaling during a service scan todetermine the physical channel(s) in which the components of the servicecan be found.

The device would then tune to the appropriate physical channel(s) andaccess the level (b) and level (c) signaling to get the additionalinformation needed.

FIG. 74 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aconversion of RTP presentation times to receiver wall clock times.

The broadcast system may support a real time continuous content deliveryof the broadcast streams.

For broadcast and multicast delivery, two different methods aredescribed for real-time delivery of continuous content via broadcast andmulticast—RTP and/or ISO BMFF over ALC/LCT+. If both methods aresupported, they may not be both used within the same service.

For RTP Carriage, delivery of continuous content components via RTP canbe supported for real-time broadcast or multicast delivery of thecontent. Such delivery can conform to a transport protocol for real-timeapplication (RTP) and appropriate additional payload specifications forthe type of media being carried, such as for timed-text closed captions,for H.264 video, for HEVC video, for HE AAC audio, etc. In particular,RTCP SR (RTP Control Protocol Sender Report) packets can be used forsynchronization among different continuous content components beingdelivered via broadcast or multicast.

What is being delivered via the broadcast to the receiver can consistof: One broadcast IP multicast RTP stream for each of the continuouscomponent tracks—e.g., video, audio, and closed caption (using protocolpath RTP/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP), and/or One broadcast IP multicast RTCP SRstream for each of the continuous component tracks (using protocol pathRTCP/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP)

For synchronizing one or more continuous components delivered via thebroadcast, we can exploit the following approach.

For each of the continuous component track, use the NTP (Network TimeProtocol) time stamps N(i) and/or the corresponding RTP (Real-timeTransport Protocol) time stamps R(i) in the RTCP stream for the track toconvert the presentation times in the RTP packet headers (which arerelative to the RTP timeline) to presentation times relative to the NTPtimeline. In this specification, the NTP timeline is an example of areference timeline to which the timings can be mapped. The NTP timetimeline can be replaced by the reference timeline or combined with thereference timeline. The reference timeline includes a NTP timeline, aGPS timeline, a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) timeline, Now Playing Time(NPT), and/or UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).

If PTR is the presentation time in a particular RTP packet header, andif N(i) and R(i) are the values from the most recent RTCP packet, thenthe formula for the conversion is,

PTN=N(i)+(PTR−R(i))/(RTP clock rate)

, where PTN is the presentation time relative to the NTP timeline.

When the service is first selected, and only one RTCP packet has beenreceived so far, the signaled nominal RTP clock rate can be used forthis computation. As more RTCP packets are received, a more accuratevalue for the actual RTP clock rate can be obtained from the values,

(R(i+1)−R(i))/(N(i+1)−N(i))

, where R(i) and N(i) are values from one RTCP packet, and R(i+1) andN(i+1) are values from the next RTCP packet. The figure shows an exampleof this situation.

Compare the NTP time stamps N(i) in the RTCP packets with the receiverwall clock times W(i) at the point in time when the packets are receivedto determine any offset between the two. (A combination of deliverydelay and possible discrepancy between the receiver wall clock and theserver NTP clock can cause a non-zero offset.) Use this offset to adjustthe presentation times in the RTP packet headers from values PTNrelative to the server NTP timeline to values PTW relative to thereceiver wall clock timeline.

The figure illustrates the conversion of a presentation time stamp PTRof an access unit in an RTP packet to the presentation time PTN relativeto the NTP timeline and then to the presentation time PTW relative tothe wall clock timeline.

FIG. 75 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack for a case in which one video track, one audio track andone closed caption track are delivered via broadcast with RTP.

We consider the following use case when one video track, one audiotrack, and one closed caption track, all delivered via broadcast, whatis being delivered via the broadcast to the receiver can consist of onebroadcast IP multicast RTP stream for each of the three tracks—onevideo, one audio, and one closed caption (using protocol pathRTP/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP) and/or One broadcast IP multicast RTCP SRstream for each of the three tracks (using protocol pathRTCP/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP).

Receiver may use signaling to get the IP multicast addresses and portsof the 3 RTP streams (audio, video, CC tracks), and/or the 3 RTCPstreams (audio, video, CC tracks).

Receiver may extract the RTP packets for the video, audio, and/or closedcaption tracks from the broadcast as they arrive.

Receiver may extract the RTCP packets for the video, audio, and/orclosed caption tracks from the broadcast as they arrive.

For each of the three tracks, Receiver may use the NTP time stamps N(i)and the corresponding RTP time stamps R(i) in the RTCP stream for thetrack to convert the presentation times in the RTP packet headers (whichare relative to the RTP timeline) to presentation times relative to theNTP timeline. If PTR is the presentation time in a particular RTP packetheader, and if N(i) and R(i) are the values from the most recent RTCPpacket, then the formula for the conversion is PTN=N(i)+(PTR−R(i))/(RTPclock rate), where PTN is the presentation tune relative to the NTPtimeline. When the service is first selected, and only one RTCP packethas been received so far, the signaled nominal RTP clock rate can beused for this computation. As more RTCP packets are received, a moreaccurate value for the actual RTP clock rate can be obtained from thevalues

(R(i+1)−R(i))/(N(i+1)−N(i)),

, where R(i) and N(i) are values from one RTCP packet, and R(i+1) andN(i+1) are values from the next RTCP packet. FIG. 2 below shows anexample of this situation.

Receiver may compare the NTP time stamps N(i) in the RTCP packets withthe receiver wall clock times W(i) at the point in time when the packetsare received to determine any offset between the two. (A combination ofdelivery delay and possible discrepancy between the receiver wall clockand the server NTP clock can cause a non-zero offset.) Use this offsetto adjust the presentation times in the RTP packet headers from valuesPTN relative to the server NTP timeline to values PTW relative to thereceiver wall clock timeline. The previously described figure gives anexample cf this computation.

Receiver may present the access units in the RTP streams at theappropriate wall clock times.

FIG. 76 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack for a case in which one video track, one audio track andone closed caption track are delivered via broadcast with ISO BMFF overALC/LCT+.

Delivery of continuous content components via ISO BMFF (ISO base mediafile format) objects contained in ALC/LCT+ (Asynchronous LayeredCoding/Layered Coding Transport+) packets can be supported for real-timebroadcast or multicast delivery of the content. The ISO BMFF objects canbe formatted according to MPEG ISO Base Media File Format (ISO BMFF),conforming to profiles to be specified according to applications. TheALC/LCT+ packets can be formatted with an additional LCT headerextension, such as to carry presentation timing information. Thepresentation timing information can include a presentation time stampfor packets that contain the beginning of an ISO BMFF object. Such apresentation time stamp can map the start of the ISO BMFF objecttimeline to the appropriate point in the time base described in thebelow paragraph. If it is necessary to associate a URL with each ISOBMFF object (for example, if an MPD is used for signaling), each ISOBMFF object can have an HTTP-style header containing a Content-Locationfield. Or ALC/LCT+ packets that contain the start of an ISO BMFF objectcan have an LCT extension header containing an associated URL.

A “Broadcast Timeline” may be established by sending broadcast timelineclock reference values via broadcast or multicast. This BroadcastTimeline can serve as the reference time base for the presentationtiming information in the LCT header extension.

Any service containing one or more continuous content components beingdelivered in real-time broadcast or multicast mode via ISO BMFF objectsover ALC/LCT+ may contain a separate “Time Base” component to define atime base to serve as the reference time base for presentation. ThisTime Base component can consist of time stamp packets transmitted atappropriate intervals. The time stamps can represent samples of anencoder side system clock, which can be used by decoders to establish adecoder side system clock, in the same way as PCR values are used toestablish system clocks in an MPEG-2 environment.

What is being delivered via the broadcast to the receiver can consist ofone broadcast IP multicast stream containing clock reference time stampsfor a broadcast time line (using protocol pathRef-Clock/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP), and/or one broadcast ISO BMFF stream foreach of the continuous component tracks (e.g., video, audio, and closedcaption).

When one broadcast IP multicast stream contains clock reference timestamps for a broadcast time line (using protocol pathRef-Clock/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP), the time scale of the time line may beordinary clock time (e.g., the clock could be just UTC time at theserver expressed in some suitable format).

When one broadcast ISO BMFF stream for each of the continuous componenttracks is used, each ISO BMFF file can be delivered as an ALC/LCT+object.

When one broadcast ISO BMFF stream for each of the continuous componenttracks is used, ALC/LCT+ packets that contain the start of an ISO BMFFfile have an LCT extension header giving the start time for the timeline of the ISO BMFF file, relative to the broadcast time line.

When one broadcast ISO BMFF stream for each of the continuous componenttracks is used, if it is necessary to associate a URL with each ISO BMFFfile (for example, if an MPD is used for signaling), each ISO BMFF filecan have an HTTP-style header containing a Content-Location field. OrALC/LCT+ packets that contain the start of an ISO BMFF file can have anLCT extension header containing an associated URL.

We consider the following use case in which one video track, one audiotrack, and one closed caption track, all delivered via broadcast.

Receiver may use signaling to get the IP multicast addresses and portsof the clock reference stream, and/or the IP multicast addresses andports and the TSI (Transport Stream Identifier) values for the ALC/LCT+sessions carrying the ISO BMFF stream(s) for the video, audio, andclosed caption tracks.

Receiver may extract the time stamps from the clock reference stream asthey appear, and use them to determine the offset between the broadcasttime line and the receiver “wall clock” time.

Receiver may extract the ISO BMFF file(s) for the video, audio andclosed caption tracks from the broadcast as they appear.

Receiver may use the presentation time stamp in the ALC/LCT+ extensionheader of each BMFF file, adjusted by the offset determined in abovestep, to set the wall clock start time for the time line of each ISOBMFF file.

Receiver may present the access units in the BMFF files at theappropriate wall clock times, based on the wall clock start time foreach ISO BMFF file and the internal relative timing information in thefile.

The broadcast system may support a unicast delivery of the broadcaststreams.

MPEG DASH (Dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP) can be supported forreal-time delivery of continuous components over a unicast channel, withsegments conforming to the specifications in ISO BMFF. Both a “live”DASH profile and a “pre-recorded” DASH profile can be specified for thispurpose, with the live profile intended for delivery of live content,and the pre-recorded profile intended for delivery of pre-recordedcontent (either as part of a linear service or part of an on-demandservice).

Error correction for real-time continuous content delivery to fixed andmobile receivers may be supported at the physical layer.

The broadcast system, as an embodiment of the present invention, maysupport a non-real time (NRT) file (or data) delivery.

The non-real-time delivery of files via broadcast or multicast can besupported.

Error correction for non-real-time delivery of files can be supportedusing FEC (Forward Error Correction) and using post-delivery repair.

The non-real-time delivery of files via unicast can be supported viaHTTP 1.1 and via HTTP 1.1 over TLS 1.2.

In order to support non-real-time delivery of content files, it may benecessary to specify file formats that are to be supported. It isespecially necessary to specify file formats of files containingcontinuous media to ensure that synchronization with other content ispossible.

FIG. 77 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aworking example of synchronization between a continuous media componentdelivered via RTP in broadcast channel and a continuous media componentdelivered via DASH over broadband.

The broadcast streams can be delivered in different types, via differenttransmission paths. The model for synchronization between multiple mediacomponent streams delivered in real-time over broadcast or multicast andDASH segments carrying movie fragments delivered via a unicast broadbandchannel may be needed to be implemented.

For a combination of RTP (Broadcast or Multicast) and DASH (Unicast), asmentioned in previous description, each continuous media componentdelivered via RTP can have an associated RTCP SR stream. Each RTCP SRpacket can carry an NTP clock reference timestamp and a correspondingRTP clock reference timestamp, which can be used to map the RTP timelineto the NTP timeline. Thus, the presentation time of the access units inthe RTP stream (which am be indicated by RTP presentation time stamps inthe RTP packet headers) can be determined by the mapping of the RTPtimeline to the NTP timeline.

In order to synchronize content delivered via DASH (unicast) withcontent delivered via RTP (broadcast or multicast), it is necessary toestablish a mapping from the DASH Media Presentation timeline to the NTPtimeline. Information necessary to establish a mapping from the DASHMedia Presentation timeline to the NTP timeline can be delivered in thebroadcast or multicast.

The figure describes a working example of synchronization between acontinuous media component delivered via RTP in broadcast channel and acontinuous media component delivered via DASH over broadband. Mappinginformation related to DASH media presentation timeline to NTP timelinecan be delivered via broadcast or multicast (e.g., green colored packetsin the below figure).

FIG. 78 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, a way ofsynchronization between a continuous media component delivered via RTPin broadcast channel and a continuous media component delivered via DASHover broadband.

One way to achieve the synchronization is to include DASH MediaPresentation clock reference timestamps in the RTCP packet by using theRTCP format customization mechanisms. It can be application-defined RTCPpacket. Moreover, DASH Media Presentation clock reference timestamps canbe included lo the RTCP packet (especially sender report packet), alongwith the RTP clock reference timestamps and NTP clock referencetimestamps.

FIG. 79 illustrates, as another embodiment of the present invention, anexample of application-defined RTCP packet.

The application-defined RTCP packet may include V(version), P(padding),Subtype, Payload Type, Length, Name, and/or Application-dependent data.The Application-dependent data may include data type, version, LocationFlag, Timestamp format, NTP timestamp, Timestamp, and/or Location.

The V(version) indicates a version of RTP protocol.

The P(padding) indicates the existence of padding bits in the payload.

The Subtype describes subtype information of RTCP packet payload.

The Payload Type indicates the type of RTCP packet payload.

The Length indicates the length of RTCP packet.

The Name include application name.

The Application-dependent data include application-dependent data.

The data type indicates the type information of application-dependentdata.

The version indicates the version of this application-dependent dataprofile.

The Location Flag indicates existence of location field withinapplication-dependent data.

The Timestamp format indicates the format of Timestamp field Forexample, it can indicate different format as followings. For example,0x00: reserved 0x01:media time, 0x02:NTP (Network Time Protocol), 0x03:normal playing time, 0x04:SMPTE time code, 0x05: 90 KHz based timestamp,0x06: GPS time, 0x07-0x0F: reserved, in the case of MPEG DASH, thisfield can include 0x01 to indicate “media time”.

The NTP timestamp includes the timestamp value of network time protocol.

The Timestamp includes time reference clock information (e.g., timescale, the time scale based presentation time stamp, etc). For example,it can include DASH Media Presentation clock reference timestamps in thecase of MPEG DASH.

The Location includes related location value, e.g., DASH MPD id or URL.

FIG. 80 illustrates, as another embodiment of the present invention, anexample of the RTCP sender report packet header.

DASH Media Presentation clock reference timestamps can be included tothe RTCP packets (especially sender report packets), along with the RTPclock reference timestamps and NTP clock reference timestamps.

An explanation for information included in the RTCP sender report packetmay be referred from the previously described explanations.

The RTCP sender report packet may include version, Location Flag,Timestamp format, Timestamp, and/or Location.

The version indicates the profile version.

The Location Flag indicates existence of location field withinprofile-specific data.

The Timestamp format indicates the format of Timestamp field. Forexample, it can indicate different format as followings. For example,0x00: reserved, 0x01: media time, 0x02: NTP (Network Time Protocol),0x03: normal playing time, 0x04:SMPTF time code, 0x05: 90 KHz basedtimestamp, 0x06: GPS time, 0x07-0x0F: reserved.

The Timestamp includes time reference clock information (e.g., timescale, the time scale based presentation time stamp, etc. For example,it can include DASH Media Presentation clock reference timestamps in thecase of MPEG DASH.

The Location includes related location value, e.g., DASH MPD id or URL.

FIG. 81 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack for a Hybrid Delivery with RTP.

Another way to achieve the synchronization is to include a separate“DASH-NTP time base mapping” component in the service, delivered viabroadcast or multicast, to map the DASH Media Presentation timeline tothe NTP timeline.

What is being delivered via the broadcast or broadband to the receivercan consist of one broadcast IP multicast RTP stream for each of thebroadcast continuous component tracks—e.g., video, audio, and closedcaption (using protocol path RTP/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP), one broadcast IPmulticast RTCP SR stream for each of the broadcast continuous componenttracks (using protocol path RTCP/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP), one or morecontinuous component tracks available via broadband using DASH (usingprotocol path ISO BMFF/DASH/HTTP(S)/TCP/IP), and/or one broadcast IPmulticast stream containing NTP time stamps and corresponding times onthe DASH Media Presentation timeline. (One can think of thisconceptually as an RTCP stream for the DASH component(s). Its purpose isto map the DASH Media Presentation timeline to the NTP timeline) (usingprotocol path Ref-Clocks/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP).

We can consider the following hybrid delivery use case in which onevideo track, one audio track, and one closed caption track are deliveredvia broadcast, and a second audio track is delivered via unicastbroadband.

The figure shows the protocol stack for content delivery in this case.The audio track shown in gray with crosshatching is not used for thepresentation.

The Receiver may use signaling to determine which audio track is to bepresented (in this case the alternate audio track), get the IP multicastaddresses and ports for the broadcast video and closed caption RTP/RTCPstreams get the IP multicast address and port for the DASH-NTP clockmapping stream, and/or get the URL of the MPD for the broadband DASHdelivers of the alternate audio stream.

The Receiver may use the URL of the MPD to retrieve the DASH MPD.

The Receiver may extract the RTP packets for the video and closedcaption tracks from the broadcast as they arrive.

The Receiver may extract the RTCP packets for the video and closedcaption tracks from the broadcast as they arrive.

The Receiver may extract the NTP-DASH clock mapping packets as theyarrive.

For the video and closed caption tracks, The Receiver may use the NTPtime stamps N(i) and the corresponding RTP time stamps R(i) in the RTCPstream for the track to convert the presentation times in the RTP packetheaders (which are relative to the RTP timeline) to presentation timesrelative to the NTP timeline, just as in RTP delivery.

The Receiver may use the NTP-DASH clock mapping packets to map the DASHMedia presentation timeline to the NTP timeline (The time scale of bothof these timelines is ordinary clock time, so it is only necessary todetermine the offset between them).

The Receiver may compare the NTP time stamps in the RTCP packets withthe receiver wall clock time at the point in time when the packets arereceived to determine any offset between the two. (A combination ofdelivery delay and possible discrepancy between the receiver wall clockand the server NTP clock can cause a non-zero offset.) Use this offsetto adjust the presentation times in the RTP packets from the NTPTimeline to the receiver wall clock timeline, and to adjust the mappingbetween the DASH Media Presentation timeline and the NTP timeline toobtain a mapping between the DASH Media Presentation timeline and thereceiver wall clock timeline.

The Receiver may present the access units in the RTP stream (video andclosed caption tracks) at the appropriate wall clock times.

Using the mapping in the above step, The Receiver may determine the timein the DASH Media Presentation timeline that corresponds to the currentreceiver wall clock time. Use the MPD to determine the correspondingDASH Period, DASH Representation containing the desired audio track,DASH Segment, and URL of that Segment.

The Receiver may retrieve that DASH Segments and succeeding Segments.And Present the access units in them at the appropriate wall clocktimes, using the mapping in above step.

FIG. 82 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, theconversion of DASH presentation times to receiver wall clock timeline.

A presentation time PTD relative to the DASH Media Presentation timelineis converted to a presentation time PTN relative to the NTP timeline,and then to a presentation time PTW relative to wall clock time.

FIG. 83 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, asynchronization of content delivered via DASH (unicast) with contentdelivered via ALC/LCT+.

As stated in this document, a Broadcast Timeline can be establishedwhenever continuous content is delivered via ALC/LCT+, to serve as thereference time base for the presentation tinting information in the LCTheader extension of ALC/LCT+ packets. In order to synchronize contentdelivered via DASH (unicast) with content delivered via ALC/LCT+(broadcast or multicast), information necessary to establish a mappingfrom the DASH Media Presentation timeline to the Broadcast Timeline canbe delivered in the broadcast or multicast as shown in the figure.

The information may correspond to timeline component AUs (or i.e.broadcast timeline packets, or i.e. Time Base components).

There is a possibility that streams transmitted through heterogeneousnetworks such as the broadcasting network and the Internet may besynchronized and used for one service in the receiver of theabove-described broadcasting system. For example, as illustrated, when avideo stream is transmitted through the broadcasting network and anaudio stream is transmitted through the Internet, the two streams needto be synchronized, decoded and reproduced for one service. In otherwords, video is acquired over the broadcasting network and audio isacquired over the Internet to use one service. For example, a viewer whodesires to view the same content using audio recorded in a differentlanguage from a language provided in the broadcasting network mayreceive the audio of the corresponding content recorded in the desiredlanguage through the Internet and use the received audio.

However, the two streams have different timelines and thus a mechanismis needed to perform mapping between the two timelines. Here, each ofthe timelines may indicate absolute or relative time serving as acriterion for reproduction or decoding of data or content transmittedthrough each transport network. In a service, content contained in videotransmitted through the broadcasting network needs to be identical tocontent contained in audio transmitted through the Internet.

The present embodiment proposes a method and apparatus for using atimeline component for synchronization between streams transmittedthrough heterogeneous networks such as the broadcasting network and theInternet. A timeline component stream may include one or more timelinecomponent access units (AUs). The timeline components AU may becontiguously disposed in the timeline component.

The timeline component AU shows an example in which a timeline of astream transmitted through the Internet is mapped to a timeline of astream transmitted through the broadcasting network. When a header of apacket transmitted through the broadcasting network includes informationabout the timeline of the stream transmitted through the broadcastingnetwork, a timeline component AU transmissible through the broadcastingnetwork may include timestamp information and the like such as adecoding time stamp (DTS), a presentation time stamp (PTS), and the likecf a stream transmitted through a heterogeneous network (for example,the Internet). When information about a timeline of the streamtransmitted through the heterogeneous network (for example, theInternet) is included in the timeline component AU, the informationabout the timeline of the stream transmitted through the heterogeneousnetwork (for example, the Internet) may be packetized in the same packetstructure as that of the stream transmitted through the broadcastingnetwork. In this way, a timestamp of the stream transmitted through thebroadcasting network included in the packet header may be mapped to atimestamp of the stream transmitted through the Internet on a one-to-onebasis, and both the streams may be synchronized in one timeline, anddecoded and reproduced.

The presentation timestamp (PTS) is a timestamp metadata field in anMPEG transport stream, MPEG program stream or similar data stream thatis used to achieve synchronization of programs' separate elementarystreams (for example Video, Audio, Subtitles) when presented to theviewer. The PTS is given in units related to a program's overall clockreference, either Program Clock Reference (PCR) or System ClockReference (SCR), which is also transmitted in the transport stream orprogram stream.

The Decode Time Stamp (DTS) indicates the time at which an access unitshould be instantaneously removed from the receiver buffer and decoded.It differs from the Presentation Time Stamp (PTS) only when picturereordering is used for B pictures. If DTS is used, PTS may be providedin the bit stream.

The above description may be applied to a case in which streamstransmitted through one network use different timelines. For example,when the above-described scheme is used, a relay service provider, whocollects streams transmitted through a plurality of heterogeneousnetworks and provides the streams to viewers, does not need to directlyperform reprocessing for synchronization of different streams.

The timeline component AU may be expressed in another format such as XMLor the like. The timeline component AU may include identifierinformation, version information, AU_length information, location_flaginformation, PTS_flag information, DTS_flag information, media_time_flaginformation, NTP_time_flag information, PTP_time_flag information,timecode_flag information, PCR_time_flag information, location_lengthinformation, location information, timescale information, media_time_PTSinformation, media_time_DTS information, NTP_time_PTS information,NTP_time_DTS information, PTP_time_PTS information, PTP_time_DTSinformation, timecode_PTS information, timecode_DTS information,PCR_time_PTS information, and/or PCR_time_DTS information.

The identifier information is an identifier that uniquely indicates astructure of the timeline component AU.

The version information may indicate lengths of timestamp fields such asa lower PTS, DTS and the like. For example, the length may correspond to64 bits when the version information has a value of 1, and correspond to32 bits when the version information has a value of 0.

The AU_length information indicates a length of the timeline componentAU.

The location_flag information indicates whether the timeline componentAU includes location information of a stream transmitted through anexternal network.

The PTS_flag information indicates whether the timeline component AUincludes a PTS value.

The DTS_flag information indicates whether the timeline component AUincludes a DTS value.

The media_time_flag information indicates whether a timestamp having amedia time format is included.

The NTP_time_flag information indicates whether a timestamp having anNTP format is included.

The PTP_time_flag information indicates whether a timestamp having a PTPformat is included.

The timecode_flag information indicates whether a timestamp having asociety of motion picture and television engineers (SMPTE) time codeformat is included.

The PCR_time_flag information indicates whether a PCR-based timestamp ofan MPEG-2 TS is included.

The location_length information indicates a length of a location field.

The location information indicates a URL or a unique ID of a streamtransmitted through a heterogeneous network. When the locationinformation indicates the unique ID, the location information may beused by being linked to information such as signaling data or the like.

The timescale information indicates a media timescale. The timescaleinformation is information for identifying a unit of time indicated byother information.

The media_time_PTS information indicates a PTS expressed in a media timeformat.

The media_time_DTS information indicates a DTS expressed in a media timeformat.

The NTP_time_PTS information indicates a PTS expressed in an NPT format.

The NTP_time_DTS information indicates a DTS expressed in an NPT format.

The PTP_time_PTS information indicates a PTS expressed in a PTP format.

The PTP_time_DTS information indicates a DTS expressed in a PTP format.

The PTP_time_PTS or PTP_time_DTS information can have a size either one32 bits, 64 bits or 80 bits.

The timecode_PTS information indicates a PTS expressed in an SMPTE timecode format.

The timecode_DTS information indicates a DTS expressed in an SMPTE timecode format.

The PCR_time_PTS information indicates a PTS expressed in a PCR format.

The PCR_time_DTS information indicates a DTS expressed in a PCR format.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the receiver maysynchronize a stream transmitted through the broadcasting network with astream transmitted through a heterogeneous network by applying at leastone timestamp information included in the timeline component AU to astream in an external network which is identified by the locationinformation.

The timeline component AU may be expressed in another format such as XMLor the like. The timeline component AU may include identifierinformation, version information, AU_length information, location_flaginformation. PTS_flag information, DTS_flag information,timestamp_version_flag information, timestamp_type information,location_length information, location information, timescaleinformation, media_time_PTS information, media_time_DTS information,timestamp_type_PTS information, and/or timestamp_to_DTS information (ortimestamp_type_DTS information).

Description of information corresponding to the same term as that of theinformation included in syntax of the timeline component AU describedabove is replaced by the above description.

The timestamp_version_flag information indicates a timestamp format of atimeline to be mapped. For example, it is possible to indicate that a32-bit format is to be used when the timestamp_version_flag informationhas a value of 0, and a 64-bit format is to be used when thetimestamp_version_flag information has a value of 1.

The timestamp_type information indicates a type of a timestamp of atimeline to be mapped. For example, the timestamp_type informationindicates that the type corresponds to a media time when the informationhas a value of 0x00, indicates that the type corresponds to NTP when theinformation has a value of 0x01, indicates that the type corresponds toPTP when the information has a value of 0x02, and indicates that thetype corresponds to a time code when the information has a value of0x03. When the information has a value of 0x04-0x1F, the type may bedefined later, and the value may be reserved.

The timescale information may indicate a timescale that expresses amedia time of a timeline to be mapped. For example, in an MPEG-2 TS, thetimescale may have a value of 90K.

The media_time_PTS information may indicate a presentation timestamp ofa timeline to be mapped, that is, a media time with respect to a pointin time at which reproduction is performed. The media_time_PTSinformation may be indicated by a 32-bit format when atimestamp_version_flag value is 0, and indicated by a 64-bit format whenthe value is 1.

The media_time_DTS information may indicate a decoding timestamp of atimeline to be mapped, that is, a media time with respect to a point intime at which decoding is performed. The media_time_DTS information maybe indicated by a 32-bit format when a timestamp_version_flag value is0, and indicated by a 64-bit format when the value is 1.

The timestamp_type_PTS information may indicate a presentation timestampaccording to a timestamp type of a timeline to be mapped, that is, apoint in time at which reproduction is performed. The timestamp_type_PTSinformation may be indicated by a 32-bit format when atimestamp_version_flag value is 0, and indicated by a 64-bit format whenthe value is 1. For example, when a timestamp_type field value indicatesNTP, a timestamp_type_PTS field value may have a timestamp value for anNTP-based reproduction time point.

The timestamp_type_DTS information may indicate a decoding timestampaccording to a timestamp type of a timeline to be mapped, that is, apoint in time at which decoding is performed. The timestamp_type_DTSinformation may be indicated by a 32-bit format when atimestamp_version_flag value is 0, and indicated by a 64-bit format whenthe value is 1. For example, when a timestamp_type field value indicatesan NTP, a timestamp_type_PTS field value may have a timestamp value foran NTP-based decoding time point.

In the above-described synchronization scheme through sharing of atimeline between transport streams transmitted through heterogeneousnetworks using the timeline component, the timeline may be shared bymapping a timestamp of a packet header of a broadcasting networktransport stream to a timestamp of an Internet transport stream includedin a timeline component AU of a packet payload on a one-to-one basis.

However, timestamp-related information may not be present in a header ofthe broadcasting network transmission packet.

As in the figure, when the timestamp-related information is not presentin the header of the transmission packet, additional information for anorigin timestamp in a timeline is needed. The timeline may be sharedbetween the broadcasting network and the Internet by mapping the origintimestamp to the timestamp of the Internet transport stream on aone-to-one basis.

Information related to the origin timestamp and the timestamp of thetransport stream in the heterogeneous network (for example, theInternet) may be included in the timeline component AU.

The origin timestamp may be defined as a timestamp on a referencetimeline. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a timestampfor the stream transmitted through the broadcasting network may bedefined as the origin timestamp.

Syntax of the timeline component AU according to another embodiment ofthe present invention may include information related to the origintimestamp in addition to syntax of the timeline component AU describedabove.

The timeline component AU may include identifier information, versioninformation, AU_length information, location_flag information,origin_PTS_flag information, origin_DTS_flag information, origin_PTSinformation, origin_DTS information, location_length information,PTS_flag information, DTS_flag information, media_time_flag information,NTP_time_flag information, PTP_time_flag information, timecode_flaginformation, PCR_time_flag information, location_URL_length information,location_URL information, timescale information, media_time_PTSinformation, media_time_DTS information, NTP_time_PTS information,NTP_time_DTS information, PTP_time_PTS information, PTP_time_DTSinformation, timecode_PTS information, timecode_DTS information,PCR_time_PTS information, and/or PCR_time_DTS information.

Description of information corresponding to the same term as that of theinformation included in syntax of the timeline component AU describedabove is replaced by the above description.

The origin_PTS_flag information indicates whether the timeline componentAU includes an origin_PTS value.

The origin_DTS_flag information indicates whether the timeline componentAU includes an origin DTS value.

The origin_PTS information indicates a PTS of a current packet on areference base timeline of timeline mapping.

The origin_DTS information indicates a DTS of a current packet on areference base timeline of timeline mapping.

The location_URL_length information indicates a length of thelocation_URL information.

The location_URL information may indicate a URL of a stream transmittedthrough a heterogeneous network, or an identifier that uniquelyidentifies the stream transmitted through the heterogeneous network.

The receiver may acquire a timeline component AU from a packet payloadof a transport stream in the broadcasting network, and parse origin_PTSinformation and/or origin_DTS information in the timeline component AUto acquire timestamp information for the transport stream in thebroadcasting network based on the parsed information. The receiver maysynchronize a transport stream of the broadcasting network with atransport stream of a heterogeneous network using information related tothe timestamp of the transport stream in the broadcasting networkacquired through the origin_PTS information and/or the origin_DTSinformation and a timestamp for the heterogeneous network included inthe timeline component AU.

FIG. 84 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, a way ofthe synchronization of content delivered via DASH (unicast) with contentdelivered via ALC/LCT+.

Each continuous media component delivered via ALC/LCT+ can havebroadcast timeline clock reference timestamps in ALC extension headers,or a separate broadcast “Time Base” component of the service can deliverbroadcast timeline clock reference timestamps at appropriate intervals.

In the case when broadcast timeline clock reference timestamps areincluded in ALC extension headers, corresponding DASH Media Presentationtimeline reference timestamps can be included along with them, toprovide a mapping from the DASH Media Presentation timeline to thebroadcast timeline.

In the case when broadcast clock reference timestamps are included in aseparate Broadcast Time Base component of the service, correspondingDASH Media Presentation timeline reference timestamps can be included inthe separate Broadcast Time Base component along with them, to provide amapping from the DASH Media Presentation timeline to the broadcasttimeline.

What is being delivered via the broadcast or broadband to the receivercan consist of one broadcast IP multicast stream containing clockreference time stamps for a “broadcast time line” and corresponding timestamps for the DASH Media Presentation timeline of the alternate audiostream that is available via unicast broadband using DASH (usingprotocol path Ref-Clocks/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP), one broadcast ISO BMFFstream for each of the continuous component tracks (e.g., video, audio,and closed caption). Each ISO BMFF file can be delivered as an ALC/LCT+object (using protocol path ISO BMFF/ALC/LCT+/IP-Multicast/UDP/IP).and/or one or more continuous component tracks available via broadbandusing DASH (using protocol path ISO BMFF/DASH/HTTP(S)/TCP/IP).

For one broadcast IP multicast stream containing clock reference timestamps for a “broadcast time line” and corresponding time stamps for theDASH Media Presentation timeline of the alternate audio stream that isavailable via unicast broadband using DASH, the time scale of the timeline is ordinary clock time; e.g., the clock could be just UTC time atthe server expressed in some suitable format (perhaps NTP format).

For one broadcast ISO BMFF stream for each of the continuous componenttracks (e.g, video, audio, and closed caption), ALC/LCT+ packets thatcontain the start of an ISO BMFF file have an LCT extension headergiving the start time for the time line of the ISO BMFF file, relativeto the “broadcast time line”. If it is necessary to associate a URL witheach ISO BMFF file (for example, if an MPD is used for signaling), eachISO BMFF file can have an HTTP-style header containing aContent-Location field. Or ALC/LCT+ packets that contain the start of anISO BMFF file can have an LCT extension header containing an associatedURL.

We can consider the following hybrid delivery use case in which onevideo track, one audio track, and/or one closed caption track aredelivered via broadcast, and a second audio track is delivered viaunicast broadband.

FIG. 85 illustrates, as an embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack for Hybrid Delivery with ISO BMFF over ALC/LCT+

The audio track shown in gray with crosshatching is not used for thepresentation.

The receiver may use signaling to determine which audio track is to bepresented (in this case the alternate audio track), get the IP multicastaddresses and ports and the TSI values for the ALC/LCT+ sessionscarrying the video and closed caption tracks, get the IP multicastaddress and port for the clock reference/mapping stream, and/or get theURL of the MPD for the broadband DASH delivery of the alternate audiostream.

The receiver may use the URL of the MPD to retrieve the DASH MPD.

The receiver may extract the time stamps from the clockreference/mapping stream as they appear, and use them to determine theoffset between the “broadcast timeline” and the receiver “wall clock”timeline, and to determine the offset between the DASH MediaPresentation timeline and the “broadcast timeline”. This results in amapping from the DASH Media Presentation timeline to the receiver “wallclock” timeline.

The receiver may extract the broadcast ISO BMFF files for the video andclosed caption tracks from the broadcast as they appear.

The receiver may use the presentation time stamp in the ALC/LCT+extension header of each BMFF file, adjusted by the offset determined inabove step, to set the wall clock start time for the time line of eachISO BMFF file.

The receiver may present the access units in the broadcast BMFF files atthe appropriate times, based on the wall clock start time for each ISOBMFF file and the internal timing information in the file.

Using the timeline mapping obtained in above step, the receiver maydetermine the time in the DASH Media Presentation timeline thatcorresponds to the current receiver wall clock time. Use the MPD todetermine the corresponding DASH Period, DASH Representation containingthe desired audio track, DASH Segment, and URL of that Segment. Andretrieve the appropriate DASH segments and present them at theappropriate wall clock times.

Above two methods can be applied when other transport protocols are usedfor broadcast channel.

The broadcast system may provide a broadcast content in which real-timecontinuous content and NRT files are combined for presenting moreinformation for the viewers.

To synchronize the play-out of continuous content from non-real-timefiles with continuous content delivered in real-time, the generalapproach to synchronization can be to map the timeline of the file-basedcontent to the timeline of the real-time continuous content.

For example, the synchronization can be to map the time line of thefile-based content to the NTP time base in the RTP case or to theBroadcast Timeline in the ISO BMFF over ALC/LCT case ofbroadcast/multicast content. Similarly, if it is desired to synchronizethe play-out of continuous content from files with continuous contentdelivered via unicast, the general approach will be to map the time lineof the file-base content to the DASH media presentation time line.

How the timeline of the file-based content is determined can depend onthe file format. In order to specify a synchronization mechanism, it isnecessary to require the clock rate of the file-based timeline, and thepresentation time of the first presentation unit in the file relative tothis timeline. How this information about the timeline of the file-basedcontent is determined will depend on the file format. The timelinespecifies a clock rate and a start time corresponding to the firstpresentation unit in the file, and that all the presentation units inthe file have a presentation time relative to this timeline.

The appropriate timeline mapping information can be signaled. The NTPtime, Broadcast Timeline time, or DASH media presentation timeline timethat corresponding to the beginning of the file can be signaled. Thewill allow the presentation time of any presentation unit in the file tobe computed relative to this timeline.

The broadcast system may encode service signaling data and transmit tothe receiver where the service signaling data is used to acquire thebroadcast contents.

One way that service signaling could be handled is to define new servicesignaling data structures that reflect the service model, and specify asuitable mechanism for delivery of such signaling. Such data structureswould need to include a way to reference DASH MPD files in order tosupport real-time unicast delivery of continuous components.

Another way that service signaling could be handled is to use DASH MPDstructures to signal all continuous components delivered in real-time,and augment this with some data structures to signal other categories ofcomponents.

The described methods of the present inventions may be performed in thetransmitter or the receiver described above.

Although the description of the present invention is explained withreference to each of the accompanying drawings for clarity, it ispossible to design new embodiment(s) by merging the embodiments shown inthe accompanying drawings with each other. And, if a recording mediumreadable by a computer, in which programs for executing the embodimentsmentioned in the foregoing description are recorded, is designed innecessity of those skilled in the art, it may belong to the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

An apparatus and method according to the present invention may benon-limited by the configurations and methods of the embodimentsmentioned in the foregoing description. And, the embodiments mentionedin the foregoing description can be configured in a manner of beingselectively combined with one another entirely or in part to enablevarious modifications.

In addition, a method according to the present invention can beimplemented with processor-readable codes in a processor-readablerecording medium provided to a network device. The processor-readablemedium may include all kinds of recording devices capable of storingdata readable by a processor. The processor-readable medium may includeone of ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tapes, floppy discs, optical datastorage devices, and the like for example and also include such acarrier-wave type implementation as a transmission via Internet.Furthermore, as the processor-readable recording medium is distributedto a computer system connected via network, processor-readable codes canbe saved and executed according to a distributive system.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

Both apparatus and method inventions are mentioned in this specificationand descriptions of both of the apparatus and method inventions may becomplementarity applicable to each other.

Various embodiments have been described in the best mode for carryingout the invention.

The present invention is available in a series of broadcast signalprovision fields. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications and variations can be made in the presentinvention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions.Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modificationsand variations of this invention provided they come within the scope ofthe appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A digital receiver for synchronizing multiplecomponents delivered on a broadband network and a broadcast network, thedigital receiver comprising: a broadband network interface configured toreceive broadband data including at least one audio component for aservice via the broadband network, wherein the at least one audiocomponent relates to a Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH)segment, wherein the broadband network comprises an internee network; abroadcast network interface configured to receive a broadcast signalincluding a video component for the service, first timing information,and second timing information via the broadcast network, wherein thebroadcast signal further includes a MPD (Media Presentation Description)having a DASH representation containing a segment URL for the DASHsegment delivered over the broadband network; and a processor configuredto calculate an offset based on a receiver wall clock, and process atleast one of the at least one audio component or the video componentwhich is time-aligned based on the calculated offset.
 2. The digitalreceiver of claim 1, wherein the first timing information and the secondtiming information are included in an adaptation set level or arepresentation level of DASH MPD.
 3. The digital receiver of claim 2,wherein the DASH segment is generated based on an ISO BMFF (Base MediaFile Format).
 4. The digital receiver of claim 3, wherein the service isa collection of continuous media components.
 5. The digital receiver ofclaim 4, wherein the digital receiver comprises a television or a settop box.
 6. A method for synchronizing multiple components delivered ona broadband network and a broadcast network in a digital receiver, themethod comprising: receiving, by the receiver, broadband data includingat least one audio component for a service via the broadband network,wherein the at least one audio component relates to a Dynamic AdaptiveStreaming over HTTP (DASH) segment, wherein the broadband networkcomprises an internet network; receiving, by the receiver, a broadcastsignal including a video component for the service, first timinginformation, and second timing information via the broadcast network,wherein the broadcast signal further includes a MPD (Media PresentationDescription) having a DASH representation containing a segment URL forthe DASH segment delivered over the broadband network; calculating anoffset based on a receiver wall clock; and processing at least one ofthe at least one audio component or the video component which istime-aligned based on the calculated offset.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the first timing information and the second timing informationare included in an adaptation set level or a representation level ofDASH MPD.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the DASH segment isgenerated based on an ISO BMFF (Base Media File Format).
 9. The methodof claim 8, wherein the service is a collection of continuous mediacomponents.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the digital receivercomprises a television or a set top box.
 11. A digital transmitter fortransmitting multiple components via a broadband network and a broadcastnetwork, the digital transmitter comprising: a broadband networkinterface configured to transmit broadband data including at least oneaudio component for a service via the broadband network, wherein the atleast one audio component relates to a Dynamic Adaptive Streaming overHTTP (DASH) segment, wherein the broadband network comprises an internetnetwork; and a broadcast network interface configured to transmit abroadcast signal including a video component for the service, firsttiming information, and second timing information via the broadcastnetwork, wherein the broadcast signal further includes a MPD (MediaPresentation Description) having a DASH representation containing asegment URL for the DASH segment delivered over the broadband network.12. The digital transmitter of claim 11, wherein the first timinginformation and the second timing information are included in anadaptation set level or a representation level of DASH MPD.
 13. Thedigital transmitter of claim 12, wherein the DASH segment is generatedbased on an ISO BMFF (Base Media File Format).
 14. The digitaltransmitter of claim 13, wherein the service is a collection ofcontinuous media components.
 15. A method for transmitting multiplecomponents delivered on a broadband network and a broadcast network in adigital transmitter, the method comprising: transmitting broadband dataincluding at least one audio component for a service via the broadbandnetwork, wherein the at least one audio component relates to a DynamicAdaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) segment, wherein the broadbandnetwork comprises an internet network; and transmitting a broadcastsignal including a video component for the service, first timinginformation, and second timing information via the broadcast network,wherein the broadcast signal further includes a MPD (Media PresentationDescription) having a DASH representation containing a segment URL forthe DASH segment delivered over the broadband network.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the first timing information and the second timinginformation are included in an adaptation set level or a representationlevel of DASH MPD.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the DASH segmentis generated based on an ISO BMFF (Base Media File Format).
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the service is a collection of continuousmedia components.